LEGENDARY French chef Raymond Blanc was in Alresford last week to support the town's famous watercress industry as he prepares to open his latest eaterie. Keen to add a Hampshire flavour to the menu at his eighth Brasserie Blanc, which opens today (Friday), Raymond visited the Vitacress-owned Pinglestone Farm in Old Alresford, where he talked to the company's Dr Steve Rothwell and Tim Brock of Hampshire Fare. He enjoyed a watercress, mango and apple juice smoothie. Raymond has been visiting local producers leading up to the opening of his new restaurant in Winchester. Fresh ingredients is the ethos at all his restaurants, so the chef, who starred in BBC2's The Restaurant, and owns and runs the two-Michelin starred Le Manoir aux Quat'Saisons in Oxfordshire, wants local produce. Raymond said: "We have to care more about food rather than consume. Agriculture is a big polluter, so we need to eat and farm differently, so food close to home seems an answer. "We have to change our habits and be more responsible, change our ethics." However, using year-round local ingredients is a challenge, and he bemoans the fact that the choice of fresh ingredients is limited in winter to "cauliflower, spring greens and kale". "We have to accept that, but then in the summer there is all the amazing, wonderful soft fruit, game, meat – you've got it all. "Then we can work much more with the locality. We are regulated by the climate. It's frustrating." Raymond's love of seasonal food was nurtured during his childhood. "I got my love of food from my grandmother and mother. What I learnt from home is gardening, then my mum would apply her simple craft of food, then sharing around the table, respecting the food, and the mood and cycles of the seasons," he said. Raymond's latest brasserie is fully booked for opening night. "I am really looking forward to being part of this beautiful and historic city. I hope it will add another layer of quality to the city. The location is perfect. It's an exciting city, a tourist centre, architecturally it's very beautiful, and it has a lot of culture. "At Brasserie Blanc, I am trying to create a really fantastic brasserie, like a bigger bistro, rustic, affordable and home-cooked. And in an area so rich in high-quality producers and growers, I am very keen to add ingredients of local provenance to my menu." The menu will offer classic and modern French dishes to include guinea fowl rillettes and soused vegetables, poulet aux morilles, braised leeks and croustillant ice creams. The specials board will offer dishes made with fresh, local ingredients. Brasserie Blanc is at 19-20 Jewry Street, Winchester. Tel 01962 810870 or visit http://www.brasserieblanc.com">www.brasserieblanc.com