A HUSBAND and wife are set to open a new Nepalese restaurant in Winchester after their dumplings, sweet and sour chicken and summer rolls proved popular on their weekly market stall.
Laxmi Lama and her husband and restaurant manager, Santosh Chumi, 35, are set to open Marse, an ancient grains Nepalese restaurant early March at The Brooks Shopping Centre.
The business started as a part-time food stall in Winchester Market in 2019.
Owner and chef, Laxmi, 34, from Winchester, said: "Since then, we have only been trading in Winchester as we always wanted Winchester to be our home for business.
"We love Winchester for its history, art, architecture and the sense of community for small independent businesses with the aim of sustainability."
The restaurant, at Unit 30 on Middle Brook Street, will feature a small seating area with a bar and a kitchen. Outdoor seating has also been applied for and is under review by the council.
Open from 11am to 8pm and serving mostly takeaway food, Laxmi's team will consist of five, with applications being accepted mid February.
The restaurant will stick to their popular menu of handmade MoMo-Nepalese dumplings, ancient grain rice, sweet and sour chicken, Nepali kwati bean stew, summer rolls and parsnip and onion pakoras.
Laxmi said: "Before the business, I worked as a plant breeder for a research and development project on marse/amaranth and other ancient grains in Nepal. I came to Europe after I was awarded a scholarship by the European Union to study a Masters of Science in Sustainable Agriculture Development in Denmark and France 2016-2018.
"I moved to Winchester after I finished my study and got married with Santosh.
"We created this ancient grains based Nepali food business, completely motivated by my whole experience in plant breeding and academic research related to conservation of ancient grains in Nepal, Vietnam and Europe.
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"I knew we needed to be in Winchester to promote, conserve and utilize the ancient grains and to support the farmers, as well as encouraging the market demand of ancient grains, not just a food ingredients in the shelves of supermarkets and health stores but actually an eatery, so that new consumers not only get to learn about ancient grains but also have a chance taste the good of it. So we created Marse."
For more details visit marse.co.uk.
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