Dashing celebrity chef Jean Christophe Novelli has opened his new venture, The Terrace at The White Horse in Hatching Green, Harpenden.

The Hertfordshire gastropub was recently launched by the chef with an auction in aid of a local charity and Novellie offered two complimentary places at the Novelli Academy as prizes.

The Michelin-starred chef is now planning a series of ten gastropubs under the restaurant brand A Touch of Novelli.

He recently left Auberge at Brocket Hall following a three year contract and is keen to support local producers with his latest venture.

Novelli also runs the popular Maison Novelli in Clerkenwell, London, and a number of other restaurants in the UK and overseas.

Jean-Christophe launched a new Edible Garden last month, in partnership with The Gastro Garden Company, at the Jean-Christophe Novelli Academy to meet growing demands for fresh and organic produce.

The Novelli Academy opened in February 2005 and the chef restored part of his 14th Century Hertfordshire farmhouse to accommodate it.