Matt Gillan to crowdfund for West Sussex flagship
Gillan - who announced he had left Brighton restaurant Pike & Pine earlier this month - is hoping to raise £60,000 on Kickstarter to refurbish and launch The Chequers Inn, which is to the north west of Horsham.
BigHospitality understands that the venue will be Gillan's flagship and will serve ambitious food.
“Having spent a bit of time at the Chequers over the last couple of weeks, I truly believe it can be amazing. Next week I’m going to launch a Kickstarter project to raise £60k to bring this beaut of a building back to life, back to the community, and take it on a brand new journey and fulfil a huge dream of mine,” Gillan wrote in an Instagram post.
The chef currently oversees the food at the Foresters Arms, also near Horsham, under his casual dining concept Electro Pirate.
Gillan has a cooking CV that includes time with Daniel Clifford, Gordon Ramsay and John Campbell and won a Michelin star for his food at The Pass at South Lodge Hotel in 2011, holding the accolade for a further four years.
He has also appeared on Great British Menu, with his main course being chosen for the main banquet at the end of the show in series 10.
Gillan parted ways with former business partner Mike Palmer earlier this year, with the latter replacing Gillan’s informal but fairly high-end Pike & Pine restaurant with Thai barbecue restaurant The Lucky Khao.
