A French woman with a passion for all things cheese and wine can't wait to reopen her Cheltenham restaurant next month.

Originally from near Paris, Stephanie Ronssin has run Domaine 16 restaurant and cheese and wine venue in Regent Street for a couple of years but, like thousands of other hospitality businesses, has spent the past year in lockdown.

Being in Regent Street makes it difficult to put chairs outside for outdoor catering, but Stephanie is excited about reopening Domaine 16 on May 17.

"Our focus is very much on cheese," she said. "We do souffle and we do fondue which is our signature. We are quite relaxed - we like all sorts of cheese and it's not merely French cheeses, we have some really good English cheeses. We also have a lovely range of wine."

Stephanie described lockdown as "pretty scary". She said: "When you open your business you know you're going to risk your money and your time that's fine but when you have something like that within one year of opening it was very frustrating.

"I try to not think how much money I lose but how much I didn't make. If we didn't have the help from the government I think we would not still be here.

"All my staff have been furloughed. We have been keeping in touch and they're all ready to work so I'm excited."

Stephanie, who has worked in the hospitality industry in and around Gloucestershire for about 15 years, is an active member of the TURF collaborative of hospitality businesses in Cheltenham.

"I joined TURF right at the beginning and it was really supportive and it's been really great. It's been a really good group supporting and sharing information about suppliers or whatever and helping each other."

TURF is currently staging its "The Very, Very First Auction" and Domaine 16 is offering as a prize a cheese and drink tasting for six people that will include seven different cheeses and seven different drinks.

"I'm very passionate when it comes to food and drink," added Stephanie. "I'm sure they will leave very happy!"

The auction is also supporting a local charity, so 5p in every £1 bid in the auction is going to National Star.

To view the active lots, visit www.turfcheltenham.co.uk/auction . For further information on how it works visit: www.turfcheltenham.co.uk/the-very-very-first-auction All auction details will be updated through TURF Cheltenham, and TURF members, social channels: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/turfcheltenham/  Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/turfcheltenham  Twitter: https://twitter.com/TURFcheltenham