Sussex and Kent have always had much to offer buyers – beautiful countryside and coastline, excellent commuter links and good schools. Thanks to the arrival in recent years of a number of top-class restaurants, it can now add 'foodie heaven' to its list of attractions.

Of course, a top restaurant is not going to singlehandedly raise the price of local properties. Nonethless, the presence of somewhere good to eat locally definitely helps to underpin the character of an area, creating a more attactive destination for both home-grown and international buyers. And while it might have taken the South East a while to catch on, it has certainly done so in recent years, attracting several Michelin-starred restaurants and even becoming a bit of a hub for fine dining.

Pretty locations within up-and-coming areas provide serious opportunity for a chef to make his or her mark and take advantage of the top-quality local produce. So it's not surprising that ambitious London-based chefs are increasingly seeing the benefit of swapping the Capital for the South East. A prime example is Rock Salt in Folkestone, Kent. Here Mark Sargent, Gordon Ramsay's former Head Chef at Claridges, serves up locally caught seafood alongside lovely harbour views. Sargent also runs the nearby Smokehouse, an authentic chippie with a modern twist.

Other restaurants creating a buzz? Thackeray's in Tunbridge Wells, run by TV chef Richard Phillips; Graham Gillett's restaurant at The West House in Biddenden; Matt Gillan's Pass at South Lodge in Horsham (Gillan is another Gordon Ramsey protégé); and Stephen Crane's restaurant at Ockenden Manor in Cuckfield (all Michelin-starred), to name but a few.

The upshot of such culinary advances is that foodies can move from the Capital to more rural parts of the South East, safe in the knowledge that they can enjoy all the advantages Kent and Sussex have to offer – and fine dining on their doorstep.