The Grade 1 listed Charterhouse building is owned by Historic Coventry Trust (HCT), which is starting an £8m restoration project in June this year, part funded by a £4.3m grant from the National Lottery.
The Charterhouse will form the centrepiece for a major new heritage and educational attraction.
The as-yet unnamed restaurant will be Purnell’s third, joining his eponymous flagship Purnell’s Restaurant and the more relaxed Purnell’s Bistro.
It will be located in the Charterhouse's adjoining coach house, and will have 30 covers on the ground floor, with 20 more in a first-floor bar. The restaurant will offer à la carte alongside a tasting menu.
Purnell and HCT founder Ian Harrabin have worked together with Birmingham-based architects BPN on the plans.
“I am thrilled and proud to be part of what is unquestionably going to be an amazing venue.” says Purnell. “The Charterhouse is a remarkable building of national importance and the project to restore it is fantastic.”
“It is a massive opportunity to bring such a strong food brand into Coventry and to hopefully be the catalyst of an explosive new food culture, as I was in Birmingham in the early 2000s. My award-winning team and I will bring a stunning restaurant which will serve adventurous and ground-breaking dishes.”
Often called the ‘Yummy Brummie’, Purnell started cooking professionally at the age of 14. He served his apprenticeship at the Metropole Hotel at the NEC and later worked for a string of high profile chefs including Gordon Ramsay, Gary Rhodes and Claude Bosi.
Purnell won his first Michelin star at Edgbaston restaurant Jessica's in 2005. He left in 2007 to open Purnell's in Birmingham's Cornwall Street, which has held a star since 2009.