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The Restaurant (UK TV Series)
Encyclopedia
The Restaurant was a British
reality television series in which a group of couples competed for the chance to set up a restaurant
financially backed and personally supported by French
chef
Raymond Blanc
. The winning couple were given their own restaurant to run. For the winners of the first series the prize restaurant was in Oxfordshire
, near to Blanc's own Le Manoir aux Quat' Saisons
. For the second series the prize restaurant was in Marlow, Buckinghamshire
.
The first series
aired on BBC Two
in 2007 and a second series
aired 2008. The first series also had its own spin-off
, The Restaurant: You're Fried! (a play on The Apprentice: You're Fired!
) which aired on BBC Three
after the main programme. This did not return for either of the subsequent series. The third and final series
was broadcast in the last months of 2009.
In the US, the show was retitled Last Restaurant Standing by BBC America
. The first series aired in spring 2008, the second in spring 2009, and the third in winter 2010.
In July 2010 the BBC
announced that the show has officially ended.
who owns a number of restaurants in the UK, most notably Le Manoir aux Quat' Saisons. The couples lived together in a shared house during the eight-week series.
Each week, Blanc set a task, such as to make as much profit from selling cocktail
s or dessert
s. Each couple's restaurant was visited by Blanc's "inspectors" – restaurant industry experts David Moore and Sarah Willingham
- who reported back to Blanc on the service, food and organisation of each. There was then a "boardroom" showdown in which each couple was given individual feedback. All couples were then called in together and the "Restaurant of the Week" award was presented to the couple deemed to have performed the best during the task. Blanc then named the three (or two in later episodes) poorest performing couples that would perform a further challenge.
In the specific challenge, the three couples chose or were assigned helpers from amongst the other contestants. They then competed again in tasks such as selling the most meals in a cafeteria
. The couple deemed to be the worst performing were eliminated by Blanc, with the line "I'm closing your restaurant".
For its first two series, The Restaurant was shown twice a week; the first being the task in which all couples took part, and the second being the challenge and subsequent elimination of one couple. In the third series, this was reduced to one episode a week.
The theme music was written by Dru Masters
, and other music used included "Waltz No. 2" from Shostakovich
's Jazz Suite and '"Showtime
" from the soundtrack to Magnolia
composed by Jon Brion
. Some music from the Amelie soundtrack
was used the series. "Let's Groove Again" by Gonzales
was used as the music for the programme's promotional trailer.
announced the production of The Restaurant in October 2006, with chef
and restaurateur
Raymond Blanc
named as the star of the series. Blanc invested a six-figure sum of money into the programme, and was described as being "very excited" about the series. The first series
began airing on August 29, 2007 and drew to a close on October 17, 2007. The series saw married couple Jeremy and Jane Hooper win the chance to set up their own restaurant, Eight at the Thatch, in the Oxfordshire
town Thame
, which opened in November 2007. After a period of maternity/paternity leave, Jeremy and Jane stepped down and left Eight at the Thatch, on 5 May, 2008 their brief tenure marked by reported rampant arguments and failure.
On January 28, 2008 the BBC confirmed the return of the programme for a second series
, which began airing on 10 September 2008. It is reported in The Aylesbury Commuter newspaper (8/5/08) that two local restaurants, The Green Dragon in Haddenham and Le Bistro in Wendover are to feature in the next series, which commenced filming May 21 2008. The Ben Johnson at Weston On The Green, near Oxford, also features in the next series.. The final episode of the second series was screened on October 29 2008, in which finalists Michele and Russell competed against James and Alasdair to provide a high class five-course meal to passengers on the Orient Express
. The programme concluded as Raymond Blanc chose to start a new restaurant with winners Michele English and Russell Clement.
A third series
of The Restaurant aired on BBC2 and BBC HD
in 2009 and was won by JJ Goodman
and James Hopkins. The victory was surprising to some as JJ had no kitchen experience, being instead a mixologist
. The BBC defended the decision stating "the judges liked their ability to think on their feet, their work ethic and their concept." They beat runners up Christopher Hackett and Nathan Gooding in the final.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
reality television series in which a group of couples competed for the chance to set up a restaurant
Restaurant
A restaurant is an establishment which prepares and serves food and drink to customers in return for money. Meals are generally served and eaten on premises, but many restaurants also offer take-out and food delivery services...
financially backed and personally supported by French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
chef
Chef
A chef is a person who cooks professionally for other people. Although over time the term has come to describe any person who cooks for a living, traditionally it refers to a highly skilled professional who is proficient in all aspects of food preparation.-Etymology:The word "chef" is borrowed ...
Raymond Blanc
Raymond Blanc
Raymond Blanc OBE is a French chef, born in Besançon, France. Today he is one of the Britain's most respected chefs. Blanc is the owner and chef at Le Manoir aux Quat' Saisons, a hotel-restaurant in Great Milton, Oxfordshire, England. The restaurant has two Michelin stars and scored 9/10 in the...
. The winning couple were given their own restaurant to run. For the winners of the first series the prize restaurant was in Oxfordshire
Oxfordshire
Oxfordshire is a county in the South East region of England, bordering on Warwickshire and Northamptonshire , Buckinghamshire , Berkshire , Wiltshire and Gloucestershire ....
, near to Blanc's own Le Manoir aux Quat' Saisons
Le Manoir aux Quat' Saisons
Le Manoir aux Quat' Saisons is a luxury hotel-restaurant in the village of Great Milton near Oxford, in Oxfordshire, England. It is located in an historic manor house near the church that was visited by Oliver Cromwell.The restaurant has two Michelin stars and scores 9/10 in the Good Food Guide...
. For the second series the prize restaurant was in Marlow, Buckinghamshire
Marlow, Buckinghamshire
Marlow is a town and civil parish within Wycombe district in south Buckinghamshire, England...
.
The first series
The Restaurant (UK series 1)
The first series of The Restaurant was broadcast in the United Kingdom from August 29 to October 17 in 2007. The programme aired on Tuesdays and Wednesdays at 8pm on BBC Two, over a total of fifteen episodes....
aired on BBC Two
BBC Two
BBC Two is the second television channel operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation in the United Kingdom. It covers a wide range of subject matter, but tending towards more 'highbrow' programmes than the more mainstream and popular BBC One. Like the BBC's other domestic TV and radio...
in 2007 and a second series
The Restaurant (UK series 2)
The second series of The Restaurant is a television series that aired in the United Kingdom on BBC Two in the autumn of 2008. Auditions took place in Manchester and London during March and April 2008...
aired 2008. The first series also had its own spin-off
Spin-off (media)
In media, a spin-off is a radio program, television program, video game, or any narrative work, derived from one or more already existing works, that focuses, in particular, in more detail on one aspect of that original work...
, The Restaurant: You're Fried! (a play on The Apprentice: You're Fired!
The Apprentice: You're Fired!
The Apprentice: You're Fired!, sometimes named You're Fired!, The Apprentice: You're Hired! or You're Hired!, is a British television show made by the BBC and filmed at Riverside Studios as a spin-off from the reality TV hit The Apprentice...
) which aired on BBC Three
BBC Three
BBC Three is a television network from the BBC broadcasting via digital cable, terrestrial, IPTV and satellite platforms. The channel's target audience includes those in the 16-34 year old age group, and has the purpose of providing "innovative" content to younger audiences, focusing on new talent...
after the main programme. This did not return for either of the subsequent series. The third and final series
The Restaurant (UK series 3)
The third series of The Restaurant is a television series that aired in the United Kingdom on BBC Two in the autumn of 2009.The judges were again Raymond Blanc, Sarah Willingham and David Moore. Nine couples competed for the chance to open their own restaurant, this time backed by all three...
was broadcast in the last months of 2009.
In the US, the show was retitled Last Restaurant Standing by BBC America
BBC America
BBC America is an American television network, owned and operated by BBC Worldwide, and available on both cable and satellite.-History:The channel launched on March 29, 1998, broadcasting comedy, drama and lifestyle programs from BBC Television and other British television broadcasters like ITV and...
. The first series aired in spring 2008, the second in spring 2009, and the third in winter 2010.
In July 2010 the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
announced that the show has officially ended.
Format
Nine couples with little or no restaurant experience competed in a series of challenges whilst running their own restaurants. Challenges were set by Raymond Blanc, a successful French chefChef
A chef is a person who cooks professionally for other people. Although over time the term has come to describe any person who cooks for a living, traditionally it refers to a highly skilled professional who is proficient in all aspects of food preparation.-Etymology:The word "chef" is borrowed ...
who owns a number of restaurants in the UK, most notably Le Manoir aux Quat' Saisons. The couples lived together in a shared house during the eight-week series.
Each week, Blanc set a task, such as to make as much profit from selling cocktail
Cocktail
A cocktail is an alcoholic mixed drink that contains two or more ingredients—at least one of the ingredients must be a spirit.Cocktails were originally a mixture of spirits, sugar, water, and bitters. The word has come to mean almost any mixed drink that contains alcohol...
s or dessert
Dessert
In cultures around the world, dessert is a course that typically comes at the end of a meal, usually consisting of sweet food. The word comes from the French language as dessert and this from Old French desservir, "to clear the table" and "to serve." Common Western desserts include cakes, biscuits,...
s. Each couple's restaurant was visited by Blanc's "inspectors" – restaurant industry experts David Moore and Sarah Willingham
Sarah Willingham
Sarah Louise Willingham and is the daughter of a maths teacher, Judith, and businessman, Rhondda. Willingham has a younger brother, Alex...
- who reported back to Blanc on the service, food and organisation of each. There was then a "boardroom" showdown in which each couple was given individual feedback. All couples were then called in together and the "Restaurant of the Week" award was presented to the couple deemed to have performed the best during the task. Blanc then named the three (or two in later episodes) poorest performing couples that would perform a further challenge.
In the specific challenge, the three couples chose or were assigned helpers from amongst the other contestants. They then competed again in tasks such as selling the most meals in a cafeteria
Cafeteria
A cafeteria is a type of food service location in which there is little or no waiting staff table service, whether a restaurant or within an institution such as a large office building or school; a school dining location is also referred to as a dining hall or canteen...
. The couple deemed to be the worst performing were eliminated by Blanc, with the line "I'm closing your restaurant".
For its first two series, The Restaurant was shown twice a week; the first being the task in which all couples took part, and the second being the challenge and subsequent elimination of one couple. In the third series, this was reduced to one episode a week.
The theme music was written by Dru Masters
Dru Masters
Dru Masters is a British composer, best known for composing television music. He has composed tracks for the British version of The Apprentice and The Unteachables, amongst others...
, and other music used included "Waltz No. 2" from Shostakovich
Dmitri Shostakovich
Dmitri Dmitriyevich Shostakovich was a Soviet Russian composer and one of the most celebrated composers of the 20th century....
's Jazz Suite and '"Showtime
Magnolia (score)
Magnolia is the score soundtrack to the Paul Thomas Anderson film of the same name. The score is composed by Jon Brion. A soundtrack release for the film with original music by Aimee Mann was previously issued in 1999...
" from the soundtrack to Magnolia
Magnolia (film)
Magnolia is a 1999 American drama film written, produced, and directed by Paul Thomas Anderson, narrated by Ricky Jay, and starring Tom Cruise, Philip Baker Hall, Philip Seymour Hoffman, William H. Macy, Julianne Moore, John C. Reilly, and Jason Robards in his last feature film appearance...
composed by Jon Brion
Jon Brion
Jon Brion is an American rock and pop multi-instrumentalist, singer, songwriter, composer and record producer.-Early life:...
. Some music from the Amelie soundtrack
Amélie (soundtrack)
Amélie is the soundtrack to the 2001 French film Amélie.Director Jean-Pierre Jeunet chanced upon the largely accordion and piano driven music of Yann Tiersen while driving with his production assistant who put on a CD he hadn't heard before. Greatly impressed, he immediately bought Tiersen's entire...
was used the series. "Let's Groove Again" by Gonzales
Gonzales (musician)
Gonzales, , is a Grammy-nominated Canadian musician currently residing in Paris, France. Though best known for his first MC and electro albums, he is also a pianist, producer, and songwriter....
was used as the music for the programme's promotional trailer.
History
The BBCBBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
announced the production of The Restaurant in October 2006, with chef
Chef
A chef is a person who cooks professionally for other people. Although over time the term has come to describe any person who cooks for a living, traditionally it refers to a highly skilled professional who is proficient in all aspects of food preparation.-Etymology:The word "chef" is borrowed ...
and restaurateur
Restaurateur
A restaurateur is a person who opens and runs restaurants professionally. Although over time the term has come to describe any person who owns a restaurant, traditionally it refers to a highly skilled professional who is proficient in all aspects of the restaurant business.-Etymology:The word...
Raymond Blanc
Raymond Blanc
Raymond Blanc OBE is a French chef, born in Besançon, France. Today he is one of the Britain's most respected chefs. Blanc is the owner and chef at Le Manoir aux Quat' Saisons, a hotel-restaurant in Great Milton, Oxfordshire, England. The restaurant has two Michelin stars and scored 9/10 in the...
named as the star of the series. Blanc invested a six-figure sum of money into the programme, and was described as being "very excited" about the series. The first series
The Restaurant (UK series 1)
The first series of The Restaurant was broadcast in the United Kingdom from August 29 to October 17 in 2007. The programme aired on Tuesdays and Wednesdays at 8pm on BBC Two, over a total of fifteen episodes....
began airing on August 29, 2007 and drew to a close on October 17, 2007. The series saw married couple Jeremy and Jane Hooper win the chance to set up their own restaurant, Eight at the Thatch, in the Oxfordshire
Oxfordshire
Oxfordshire is a county in the South East region of England, bordering on Warwickshire and Northamptonshire , Buckinghamshire , Berkshire , Wiltshire and Gloucestershire ....
town Thame
Thame
Thame is a town and civil parish in Oxfordshire, about southwest of the Buckinghamshire town of Aylesbury. It derives its toponym from the River Thame which flows past the north side of the town....
, which opened in November 2007. After a period of maternity/paternity leave, Jeremy and Jane stepped down and left Eight at the Thatch, on 5 May, 2008 their brief tenure marked by reported rampant arguments and failure.
On January 28, 2008 the BBC confirmed the return of the programme for a second series
The Restaurant (UK series 2)
The second series of The Restaurant is a television series that aired in the United Kingdom on BBC Two in the autumn of 2008. Auditions took place in Manchester and London during March and April 2008...
, which began airing on 10 September 2008. It is reported in The Aylesbury Commuter newspaper (8/5/08) that two local restaurants, The Green Dragon in Haddenham and Le Bistro in Wendover are to feature in the next series, which commenced filming May 21 2008. The Ben Johnson at Weston On The Green, near Oxford, also features in the next series.. The final episode of the second series was screened on October 29 2008, in which finalists Michele and Russell competed against James and Alasdair to provide a high class five-course meal to passengers on the Orient Express
Orient Express
The Orient Express is the name of a long-distance passenger train service originally operated by the Compagnie Internationale des Wagons-Lits. It ran from 1883 to 2009 and is not to be confused with the Venice-Simplon Orient Express train service, which continues to run.The route and rolling stock...
. The programme concluded as Raymond Blanc chose to start a new restaurant with winners Michele English and Russell Clement.
A third series
The Restaurant (UK series 3)
The third series of The Restaurant is a television series that aired in the United Kingdom on BBC Two in the autumn of 2009.The judges were again Raymond Blanc, Sarah Willingham and David Moore. Nine couples competed for the chance to open their own restaurant, this time backed by all three...
of The Restaurant aired on BBC2 and BBC HD
BBC HD
BBC HD is a high-definition television network provided by the BBC. The service was initially run as a trial from 15 May 2006 until becoming a full service on 1 December 2007...
in 2009 and was won by JJ Goodman
JJ Goodman (bartender)
John James Goodman , known as JJ Goodman is a British bartender. Together with his partner James Hopkins he won BBC2's The Restaurant with Raymond Blanc in December 2009.-Career:...
and James Hopkins. The victory was surprising to some as JJ had no kitchen experience, being instead a mixologist
Bartender
A bartender is a person who serves beverages behind a counter in a bar, pub, tavern, or similar establishment. A bartender, in short, "tends the bar". The term barkeeper may carry a connotation of being the bar's owner...
. The BBC defended the decision stating "the judges liked their ability to think on their feet, their work ethic and their concept." They beat runners up Christopher Hackett and Nathan Gooding in the final.