Chef Russell Brown has built up a devoted following in the West Country. He was head chef for three-and-a-half years until the summer of 2001 at the Yalbury Cottage hotel near Dorchester, gaining two AA rosettes, and more recently headed up the kitchen under executive chef Peter Gorton at the one-Michelin-starred Horn of Plenty, at Gulworthy in Devon, where he was awarded three rosettes.
Last year, though, he and his wife Eléna, who runs front of house, decided to strike out on their own, and found a spot in Dorchester, where they opened Sienna last month.
The restaurant is small, with only 14 seats, but that suits Brown fine, since the couple made a conscious decision to avoid table-turning when they planned the business. "If you give people a nice, relaxed environment to dine in then they'll spend more - they'll have that liqueur with pudding and an extra bottle of wine - and that's what drives your profit margins up," Brown says.
Fourteen covers is also manageable for the small kitchen, where Brown and one other trainee produce modern British food with plenty of rustic Mediterranean influences.
Particularly popular among the five-strong starter list are the seared king scallops which Brown gets from Brixham, Devon, still in the shell to ensure freshness. He cuts three for each plate, sears them, then rests them on a bed of fennel purée around a herb salad, before finishing with a strip of pancetta across each.
Elsewhere, seasonality plays a large part. No surprises, then, to find a starter of asparagus and broad bean broth with quails' eggs, and, again as a Mediterranean touch, a dash of pesto.
Wherever possible Brown wants to emphasise "stunning" West Country local produce, so he's cultivated good contacts with local producers, among them a Dorchester family butcher, P&J. Pork is sourced from an agricultural college just outside the town, and Brown likes to wrap pork fillet in Parma ham before searing it and finishing it in the oven. This gives an interesting combination of textures, with the tenderness of the fillet being offset by the crispier Parma. The dish is completed with crispy polenta and spring vegetables such as baby turnips and leeks.
At lunch a lighter menu is offered in the same style, such as pan-fried fillet of sea bream with a saffron risotto, with three courses served for £16 or two for £12.
Though concise and not straying much over £30 for still wine, Sienna's wine list also has dashes of verve. The magnificently ripe Pesquera Crianza, from the increasingly competitive Ribera del Duero region in Spain at £29 is a suitable accompaniment to the selection of West Country cheeses Brown serves on his dessert menu.
Which reminds Brown of another reason to relish the cosier environment. "We had a guy who wasn't sure whether he wanted the Harbourne Blue we serve with the selection of cheeses. But because we are small we had the time to give him a little sample, talk him through it and, sure enough, he loved it. He ordered the plate - and some more wine."
Sienna, 36 High West Street, Dorchester, Dorset DT1 1UP. Tel: 01305 250022.
Web: www.siennarestaurant.co.uk
Chef's Cheat
"When you've got bread or rolls that are proving and you want to cover them up out of any draught, use clingfilm but spray it first with Trennwax - a spray-on vegetable oil used to stop sticking on pastry moulds - to stop the dough sticking to the clingfilm."
What's on the menu
Dinner £28 for three courses, £21 for two courses
* Saffron and tiger prawn risotto with tomato essence and chive oil
* Chicken liver and foie gras parfait with a salad of French beans and shallots, red onion marmalade and toasted sourdough
* Salad of duck confit and pickled wild mushrooms with a roasted garlic dressing
* Gâteaux of roasted beetroot and Vulscombe goats' cheese with herb gnocchi and a balsamic jus
* Pot-roasted quail, wild mushrooms, wilted spinach and a Puy lentil sauce
* Individual Bramley apple crumble with vanilla ice-cream and an apple and sultana syrup
* Valrhona bitter chocolate mousse with a pistachio cream sauce
By Dan Bignold