Alton’s MasterChef 2023 winner Chariya Khattiyot will soon expand her business by opening Chariya’s Kitchen in Medstead.

Chariya was running the Coffee Cherry coffee shop in Normandy Street when she won the BBC competition, and following her success she opened the Khao Soi restaurant - featuring dishes she learned to cook growing up in northern Thailand - in Cross & Pillory Lane.

Chariya’s Kitchen will be at Lower Soldridge Farm. Chariya said: “It is part of Coffee Cherry and the restaurant, so it's not a new business.”

Its opening will be the latest event in another busy year for Chariya, who published her first cookbook, Lanna, in April, enabling fans to recreate her northern Thai dishes at home.

This summer she has been touring food festivals across the south in a decorated food truck. Chariya has been to Brighton, Southampton, St Albans, Guildford and Winchester so far, with trips to Oxford and Bath to come at the end of August.

Chariya won the 19th series of amateur MasterChef. The 21st series was due to start on the BBC on August 6, despite the sackings of its presenters John Torode and Gregg Wallace. It had already been filmed when Wallace was dismissed for inappropriate behaviour and Torode for using racist language.

The programmes may be edited to reduce the prominence of Wallace and Torode. A spokesperson for the BBC said: “This has not been an easy decision in the circumstances and we appreciate not everyone will agree with it.

“We believe that broadcasting this series is the right thing to do for these cooks who have given so much to the process. We want them to be properly recognised, and give the audience the choice to watch the series.”

Chariya remained tight-lipped over the controversy. She told the Herald: “I don't have any comments about anything else apart from my own businesses.”