FINE dining will be on the menu in Malvern if a chef whose restaurant was rated among the top 20 in the world fulfils his dream of moving to the town.

Shaun Hill, currently chief patron of the renowned Merchant House restaurant which put Ludlow on the gastronomic map, is on the lookout for the perfect venue in Worcestershire - and Malvern is top of the list.

The Michelin-starred Merchant House - rated 14th in the Restaurant Magazine's list of the top 20 restaurants in the world - will serve its last customers on Monday, February 28, after a successful 11 years in Ludlow.

And from then on, Mr Hill says he will be putting on his "Sherlock Holmes hat" to hunt down the perfect new venue.

He says he wants to be closer to Worcestershire and the M5, and extend his culinary talents further with a bigger kitchen and restaurant which can offer 40 covers - twice as many as he does at the Merchant House.

"Malvern Hills District Council has already sent me the details of old churches and other prospective buildings. But I work six days a week in the restaurant and I've found it difficult to look round properly.

"The second The Merchant House closes, I will be donning my Sherlock Holmes hat and looking seriously.

"If nothing catches my imagination immediately, I will do some consultancy work, revamping restaurants in hotels, to keep the money coming in."

Mr Hill, who has lived in Evesham in the past and has a daughter living in Worcester, said he wanted his new restaurant to be in Worcestershire as he knows his way around.

"I know the area, I know the produce and it makes more sense," he added.