An Amersham restaurant has received a prestigious Michelin star for the first time.

The Artichoke, which is owned by husband and wife team Laurie and Jacqueline Gear, have been delighting diners in Amersham since the restaurant was opened in 2002.

This accolade followers a number of other prestigious awards since 2011. The Artichoke was named ‘Best New Entry’ in The Good Food Guide in 2011 and received a ‘Rising Star’ in the 2011 Michelin Guide.

Last year, the restaurant was listed 36th in The Good Food Guide’s ‘Top 50 UK Restaurants 2018’ and was listed in The Sunday Times ‘Top 100 UK Restaurants’ for four consecutive years between 2013 and 2016.

Restaurant owner Laurie Gear said: “I just want to say thank you to our incredible staff, our head chef Ben Jenkins and restaurant manager Jarek Krausewicz for all of their hard work.

“We have been operating for 17 and a half years and we have gone through a real journey. We have gone through a fire in our neighbours’ premises which forced us to close for 18 months, so it’s not been easy.

“This Michelin Star is the real crowning glory.

“In terms of the future, we just want to keep improving and flying the flag for Amersham and delivering what we have done since opening.

“We’re really lucky to have a selection of amazing restaurants and shops in the town and we all work with conjunction with one another.”

Gwendal Poullennec, International Director of the Michelin guides, said: “Despite the obvious challenges being faced by the industry here in the UK, we are thrilled that this has been such a stellar year, and we have seen many first ventures opening and rapidly rising to success.”