Heston Blumenthal, one of the most famous chefs in the world, is taking on the challenge of transforming roadside cafe chain Little Chef into a quality dining spot.
The triple-Michelin-starred chef is said to have a ‘nostalgic fondness’ for the chain. The project will, of course, form another food TV show, to be aired on Channel 4 this summer.
Blumenthal will concentrate on one outlet, reworking the menu, interior and the quality and training of the front of house team.
If his changes prove successful in the test case, they will be rolled out across all branches of the near-200-outlet-strong chain.
Little Chef, which celebrates its 50th anniversary this year, was saved from the brink of collapse last year by venture capitalists RCapital, at a time when it was thought to be making losses of up to £3 million a year.
Sue Murphy, Channel 4`s head of features, described the pairing as "A clash of culinary cultures”.
The two-year deal is expected to net the chef somewhere up to £1 million, with huge potential for spin offs, including cookery books.
Cathy Stevenson, the marketing director at Little Chef, said: "Heston will be helping us with our menu, the restaurant interiors and our training and service standards. It will be a total re-brand."
Murphy defended the programme’s merit from talk of it being simply a ‘puff piece’ for the struggling restaurants, saying: "They are genuinely open to Heston going in and trying to bring a different view to trying to revive Little Chef for this century".
Blumenthal has said he is ‘excited’ about this new venture. He defected from the BBC to Channel 4 earlier this year in a move attributed to editorial rather than financial reasons.
Do you think this is a good move for Heston?
Is this a serious revival of a struggling chain, or simply a PR exercise?