Million Pound Menu
Also known asMy Million Pound Menu
GenreGame show, reality TV
Country of originUnited Kingdom
Original languageEnglish
No. of series2
No. of episodes12
Production
Running time60 min
Production companiesElectric Ray
Sony Pictures Television
BBC
Original release
NetworkBBC Two
Release17 May 2018 (2018-05-17) –
19 February 2019 (2019-02-19)

My Million Pound Menu is a BBC reality tv television series which ran from 2018-2019, where budding restaurateurs would present food concepts to a panel of investors in hopes of winning investment. It was presented by Fred Sirieix, a professional maitre d'hotel turned television personality. It was described the Guardian as "Dragons' Den meets MasterChef".[1]

The programme was broadcast on BBC Two, with the first series of six episodes broadcast from 17 May to 21 June 2018. The second series also comprising six episodes was broadcast from 8 January to 19 February 2019. Although not cancelled, no further series were made, possibly due to the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic. Episodes are now available to stream on Netflix. Investment offer ranged from £95,000 to nearly £1 million.

Development

The UK restaurant industry is worth £35 billion a year.[2] The vast majority of restaurants close within a year of opening. Meredith Chambers, managing director of production company Electric Ray, said he came up with the concept after meeting the agent of well known chef who said that it was common practice for prospective restaurateurs seeking investors to make them dinner to demonstrate the concept and their skills. Chambers felt this would translate well to a reality tv format.[3] The show also discussed and depicted trends within the culinary industry in the UK, such as the increasing popularity of vegan food and up-and-coming world cuisines.[4] Million Pound Menu was praised for its depiction of the process of developing a successful restaurant business, with Fred Sirieix commenting: "Everybody in the hospitality industry dreams of owning their own restaurant and they all worry about getting capital but we show it’s important you also meet the right investors and that you have a simple but scalable concept. It’s not just about great cooking, you need knowledge of HR, marketing and basic finance too."[5]

Format

Originally titled Million Pound Menu, in each episode of the first series, a number of participants (it is never shown how many) pitch their ideas via video conference to a table of investors. Two new restaurant ideas are selected to move through to the next stage - their own pop-up restaurant in Manchester for two days in an attempt to gain backing from the investors.[1][6] Each teams gets a restaurant opposite the other on the same street. The two participants/teams are given two weeks and access to an interior design team to produce a concept that aligns with their vision.

On the first evening, the restaurant runs a soft launch evening service (where customers receive a 50% discount) and serves the investors dinner from their menu. The next day, the participants meet with interested investors individually to go through their business plan and answer questions. At this point, investors who are thinking of investing give an indication of what their proposed investment would likely look like - often the investors are looking for promising concepts to gave spaces in their existing developments. After this, the participants then run a lunch service which the investors also attend, often sitting at the bar so they can observe the kitchen operating. Investors can drop out at any point, but after lunch, they have until 8 pm to decide whether they wish to invest or not. If multiple investors make offers, the team picks the investor they want to work with.

In series two, the format was changed to give investors greater opportunities to interact with the different aspects of the concept. Three concept teams of hopeful restaurateurs prepare their signature dish for four potential investors, who make comments to camera about the value of the idea. By majority vote, the investors select one team to open a two-day pop-up restaurant in Manchester. (Investors can drop out at any point). Once in Manchester, the concept team runs a soft-launch dinner service. The investors dine with each other during this service. On the morning of the second day, the concept team has one-hour business meetings with each investor. Afterwards, the team conducts a full-price lunch, where the remaining investors dine alone and also interview customers. Afterwards, the investors are given a deadline of 7pm to return to the restaurant to present an offer.

Investors

The panel of investors changed with every episode, but included:

  • Atul Kochhar, celebrity chef
  • Scott Collins, co-founder of burger and cocktail group MEATliquor
  • Darrel Connell, partner at investment group Imbiba Partnership
  • Jeremy Roberts, CEO of Living Ventures, a restaurant and bar group
  • Tim Gee, Property Director at Allied London, a property development and investment company
  • Chris Miller, Founder of White Rabbit Fund, a restaurant investment group
  • David Page, Chairman of The Fulham Shore, a restaurant investment group
  • Jamie Barber, a restaurateur of several food chains
  • Shruti Ajitsaria, angel investor and lawyer for Allen and Overy

Series 2 only:

  • Charlie McVeigh, pub chain owner
  • Maurice Abboudi, angel investor and executive director of K10 Japanese restaurants
  • Jane O'Riordan, angel investor and Group Strategy Director of Nando's
  • Matt Farrell, a Liverpool based food and drink investor
  • Laura Harper-Hinton, CEO of restaurant group Caravan
  • Will Shu, CEO of Deliveroo

Broadcast history

Series 1

Episode First aired Entrepreneur(s) Brand name Investment sought Description of product Investment offered Investor Website Fate
Episode 1 17 May 2018 Ruth Hansom and Emily Lambert Epoch £600,000 to open a restaurant in London All-British fine dining £750,000 Atul Kochhar N/A Dissolved in 2019 - both candidates took other jobs [7]
Episode 1 17 May 2018 Ewan Hutchison Shrimpwreck £100,000 to open a restaurant in Scotland Tempura prawn buns fast casual None offered - Scott Collins offered mentorship N/A Continues to operate as a street stall (2022)
Episode 2 24 May 2018 Oli, Joe and Michael FINCA £150,000 to open a restaurant in Liverpool Cuban-inspired street food £150,000 Jeremy Roberts N/A Unclear - several residencies
Episode 2 24 May 2018 Chelsea Campbell Wholesome Junkies £95,000 to open a restaurant in Manchester Vegan junk food None offered - Chris Miller offered mentorship N/A Restaurant opened in August 2022
Episode 3 31 May 2018 Ronnie Murray and Jamie Randall Hollings £200,000 to open a restaurant British chophouse Atul Kochhar offered the full amount for investment, but the participants declined after he required them to give up their additional employments to focus full-time on Hollings Atul Kochhar N/A Dissolved (2019) - Murray opened another concept and Randall started a marketing agency
Episode 3 31 May 2018 Graham Bradbury The Cheese Wheel Italian fresh pasta None offered N/A Continues to operate as a street stall (2022)
Episode 4 2 June 2018 Lee Bardon and Faai Kerphol Greedy Khao Vegan Thai grab-and-go None offered N/A - Active (2019)
Episode 4 2 June 2018 Prince Owusu Trap Kitchen Soul-food inspired takeaway None offered N/A - Active (2019)
Episode 5 14 June 2018 Jay Morjaria Dynasty Korean fine dining £500,000 and residency in Forte Berlin hotel Lydia Forte - Active (2019)
Episode 5 14 June 2018 Rupert Smith and Marita Lietz Bubble& Bubble and squeak None offered - Atul Kochhar offered mentorship N/A - Unknown
Episode 6 21 June 2018 Liz and Stew Down Black Bear Burger £250,000 to launch a national chain Premium burgers None offered N/A - Active (2019)
Episode 6 21 June 2018 Jennifer Henry and Hannah Adams Naked Dough £250,000 to launch a national chain Raw cookie dough None offered N/A Operates as ecommerce store (2022)

Series 2

Episode First aired Entrepreneur(s) Brand name Investment sought Description of product Investment offered Investor Website Fate
Episode 1 8 January 2019 Lee Johnson and Sinead Campbell BBQ Dreamz £350,000 to open a restaurant in London Fiilipino street food £350,000 Charlie McVeigh Opened as Bong Bong Manila Canteen in Hackney in 2021
Episode 2 15 January 2019 Liz Selway and Alec Owen Baba G's £300,000 to open two restaurants Indian-spiced burgers and fries Jamie Barber offered £200,000, Atul Kochhar offered £300,000 Atul Kochhar Restaurant opened in Brixton in 2019
Episode 3 22 January 2019 Jamie Duffield, Dave Bone and Anthony Power Pilgrim £400,000 to open a restaurant in London Spanish fine dining themed on the Camino de Santiago Matt Farrell offered a place in the Duke Street Market Hall in Liverpool Matt Farrell Opened in Liverpool in 2019 [8]
Episode 4 5 February 2019 Tanya Gohil Devi's £650,000 to open a restaurant in London Indian vegetarian and sustainable street food None offered - Laura Harper-Hinton offered mentorship N/A Active (2022)
Episode 5 12 February 2019 Scott De Lima and Lacey Miles Tiger Bites £250,000 to open a restaurant in London Asian fusion street food Will Shu offered a spot in a Deliveroo dark kitchen Will Shu - Active (2022) [9]
Episode 6 19 February 2019 Adam Wood and Gethin Davies Coracle £750,000 to open a restaurant in London Welsh-inspired British cooking None offered - Atul Kochhar offered mentorship N/A - Dissolved - Wood became head chef at a Cambridge hotel owned by Chris Miller[10]

References

  1. 1 2 Wollaston, Sam (24 May 2018). "Million Pound Menu review – Dragons' Den meets Masterchef". The Guardian. Retrieved 1 August 2019.
  2. ↑ cycles, This text provides general information Statista assumes no liability for the information given being complete or correct Due to varying update; Text, Statistics Can Display More up-to-Date Data Than Referenced in the. "Topic: Restaurants in the UK". Statista.
  3. ↑ "Hot Picks: Million Pound Menu". BroadcastNow. Retrieved 20 August 2022.
  4. ↑ "Million Pound Menu: Big bucks and bigger appetites". BrockPress. Retrieved 20 August 2022.
  5. ↑ "Million Pound Menu star Fred Sirieix: 'It's brilliant seeing restaurants being born'". What To Watch. 9 May 2018. Retrieved 20 August 2022.
  6. ↑ Wilson, Benji (17 May 2018). "Million Pound Menu review – a daft hodge-podge of recent reality show formats". The Telegraph. Retrieved 1 August 2019.
  7. ↑ "Ruth Hansom's Million Pound Menu restaurant no longer moving forward". bighospitality.co.uk. 14 May 2019.
  8. ↑ ""It's all about inclusivity and community": Pilgrim's founders on their first permanent restaurant". bighospitality.co.uk. 10 June 2019.
  9. ↑ "My Million Pound Menu's Tiger Bites given Deliveroo slot". bighospitality.co.uk. 13 February 2019.
  10. ↑ "Interview: Chef Adam Wood to front new Garden House restaurant in Cambridge". 4 June 2021.
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