The BBC has decided not to order another series of The Restaurant. The show, which ran for three series, focused on couples competing to go into business with celebrity chef Raymond Blanc. According to The Guardian, the BBC believes that the format is no longer suitable because of the economic climate. However, the channel is reportedly hoping to develop new projects with Blanc and another series of his BBC Two show Kitchen Secrets. "The Restaurant has proved a popular format with (more)...
- 7/14/2010
- by By Catriona Wightman
- Digital Spy
TV chef Raymond Blanc has broken his leg after an accident at his Oxford home. The Restaurant star, 60, fell down the stairs and will require a minor operation on broken bones. Blanc's fiancee Natalia Traxel, who is a doctor, was with him at the time and called for paramedics to take him to the John Radcliffe hospital. "It has been confirmed that Raymond Blanc, chef patron of Le Manoir Aux (more)...
- 3/2/2010
- by By Alex Fletcher
- Digital Spy
I'm not even sure what to say about Last Restaurant Standing at this point. Last night's season finale of Last Restaurant Standing ("The Banquet") proved to me that the producers have irreparably damaged this once promising and engaging format. It's rare for me to go from obsessively loving a series to loathing it from one season to the next but the third season of this culinary competition series (which airs in the UK as The Restaurant) has been so shockingly dismal and so poorly produced that it took all of my energy to keep watching it to the (very) bitter end. Yes, a winner was named last night for the third season and I can't help but be shocked and depressed by the results, which proves the producers--and quite possibly Raymond Blanc himself--were more interested in concept and uniqueness than in finding partners who could actually, you know, cook. Just...
- 2/24/2010
- by Jace
- Televisionary
I'm not quite sure what to make of the couples assembled for this season of BBC America's Last Restaurant Standing (which airs in the UK under the title The Restaurant). As always, they are a motley lot comprised of people who believe that they can open a restaurant because they give good dinner party and those who seemingly have no knowledge of food, no culinary training, and no common sense. Last night's episode of Last Restaurant Standing ("Opening Night"), the season's third, finally had the couples getting the keys to their very own restaurant spaces, picked at random and representing a number of diverse locations all around the city of Bristol, from quayside eateries to balconied high-traffic spaces. To me, this is where any season of Last Restaurant Standing should really begin. I appreciated what Raymond Blanc and the producers attempted with the first week auditions and the second...
- 1/20/2010
- by Jace
- Televisionary
I've long been captivated by BBC America's culinary competition series, Last Restaurant Standing (a.k.a. The Restaurant in the UK), which returns with its third season tonight. While Last Restaurant Standing returns tonight, the series is a slightly different beast than in its two previous iterations. While chef/restaurateur Raymond Blanc and judges Sarah Willingham and David Moore all return and the overall premise of the series--"couples" compete to open their own restaurant--remains the same, there's something slightly different going on here. For one, Last Restaurant Standing's format has changed, reducing the episode count and sucking out some of the series' nail-biting tension. In the UK, previous seasons of the competition series aired twice a week, with one episode devoted to the couples running their individual restaurants, amid frequent complications sprung on them by Raymond Blanc, and the second devoted to the Challenge, a gauntlet of fire...
- 1/5/2010
- by Jace
- Televisionary
Jj and James are the winners of BBC Two’s The Restaurant. In the final show they secured the dream prize of joining Raymond Blanc and his partners Sarah Willingham and David Moore in opening a new restaurant.
Jj and James said: “We’re over the moon to be beginning one of the greatest journeys of our lives.
“To be opening a restaurant with Raymond Blanc is a dream come true and we hope we can live up to his expectations and those of industry experts Sarah and David.
“We hope it will be an incredible partnership that will stand the test of time.”
The series began with nine couples competing for the opportunity of running their own restaurant. They faced culinary challenges from working in high street chains to organising a tea dance and holding a cookery master class – all the while dealing with the hard reality of running their own restaurants.
Jj and James said: “We’re over the moon to be beginning one of the greatest journeys of our lives.
“To be opening a restaurant with Raymond Blanc is a dream come true and we hope we can live up to his expectations and those of industry experts Sarah and David.
“We hope it will be an incredible partnership that will stand the test of time.”
The series began with nine couples competing for the opportunity of running their own restaurant. They faced culinary challenges from working in high street chains to organising a tea dance and holding a cookery master class – all the while dealing with the hard reality of running their own restaurants.
- 12/18/2009
- by Lisa McGarry
- Unreality
Gavin & Stacey made a strong return for BBC One last night, the latest viewing figures show. The first episode of the third series, which aired at 9pm, pulled in a decent 5.63m (22.3%), but failed to beat the 2008 Christmas special, which logged 6.76m (31.3%) on Christmas Eve last year. Also on BBC One, the new series of Qi opened to 4.48m (18.3%) in its 9.30pm slot, while the 8.30pm Traffic Cops was seen by 3.49m (14.6%). Over on BBC Two, The Restaurant and Natural World put in 1.51m (6.3%) and 1.72m (6.9%) at 8pm and 9pm respectively. River Cottage managed 2.55m (10.6%) for Channel 4 at 8pm, then the audience dropped to 1.58m (6.4%) during the 9pm screening of Jess: Britain's Youngest Sleepwalker. (more)...
- 11/27/2009
- by By Dan French
- Digital Spy
The Restaurant opens its doors for a third series, as world-renowned chef, Raymond Blanc, along with partners David Moore and Sarah Willingham, is on the hunt for a couple to back in a new venture. This time, all three are investing their own money in the winners’ restaurant, so the stakes are high from the off.
For the nine couples picked to take part it is an opportunity to change their lives for ever, and among the pairs ready to prove they have the recipe for success are best friends, husband-and-wife teams, a mother and son and Army colleagues.
But with the restaurant industry going through tough times, it’s going to be harder than ever for the couples to prove they can succeed. Called to Bristol to meet Blanc they are introduced to the world of the high street restaurant.
They are given just one hour to cook a...
For the nine couples picked to take part it is an opportunity to change their lives for ever, and among the pairs ready to prove they have the recipe for success are best friends, husband-and-wife teams, a mother and son and Army colleagues.
But with the restaurant industry going through tough times, it’s going to be harder than ever for the couples to prove they can succeed. Called to Bristol to meet Blanc they are introduced to the world of the high street restaurant.
They are given just one hour to cook a...
- 10/24/2009
- by Lisa McGarry
- Unreality
BBC Two has commissioned two new spinoff shows from The Restaurant, it has been announced. Raymond Blanc: Step By Step, a cookery series featuring the famous chef, will accompany the main show, while Plate Expectations will follow series two runners-up Alasdair and James as they go it alone as event caterers. BBC Two controller Janice Hadlow said of the new series: "The (more)...
- 9/2/2009
- by By Dan French
- Digital Spy
The BBC has announced that reality chef series The Restaurant will return for a third series. The show, fronted by restaurateur Raymond Blanc, will see nine couples battle it out for the opportunity to open a restaurant with him. Blanc said of the new series: "This year will be survival of the fittest. I am not looking for dreamers, I want to see couples with fresh ideas and a partnership that will flourish under pressure." (more)...
- 3/10/2009
- by By Dan French
- Digital Spy
Raymond Blanc has been made an honorary OBE for services to the British food industry. The Restaurant host was presented with the honour by Culture Secretary Andy Burnham. The French-born chef arrived in Britain in 1972 and opened his first restaurant in Oxford 12 years later. Le Manoir aux Quat'Saisons was named Egon Ronay Restaurant of the Year in 1985 and has retained two Michelin stars for more than two decades. Blanc said: "I am both proud and delighted to be awarded this honour by Her Majesty (more)...
- 10/28/2008
- by By Sarah Rollo
- Digital Spy
The Restaurant hit a new high on Wednesday as the series drew closer to its conclusion. The show, headed by chef Raymond Blanc, pulled in a series high of 2.75m (11.9%) in the 8pm hour on Wednesday. Over its seven weeks to date, The Restaurant has averaged a strong 2.37m (10.7%). The finale airs this Wednesday (October 29). ITV1 won the 8pm hour with 5.25m (22.8%) for The Bill, while on BBC One, new fly-on-the-wall documentary series Air Medics began with 4.04m (17.5%). Channel 4's Supernanny USA had 1.55m (6.7%) and Five's Axe Men brought in 1.1m (4.8%). At 9pm, BBC One took the lead, drawing 6.31m (26.4%) with Silent Witness. Greatest Cities of the World with Griff Rhys Jones concluded its three-week run with a trip to Paris and an audience of 3.26m (13.7%) for ITV1. Heroes kept up the pace for BBC Two (more)...
- 10/26/2008
- by By Neil Wilkes
- Digital Spy
The BBC has revealed the nine couples taking part in Raymond Blanc's reality series The Restaurant. The contestants include South Wales couple Laura and Peter with an idea for "The Welsh Wok" Chinese restaurant; mother and daughter Annette and Kashelle from South Yorkshire, who are hoping to launch a Caribbean-themed menu; and Lindsie and Tim, a couple with a concept for a modern European-style brasserie specialising in seasonal dishes. "I'm in midlife, I'm due a crisis. I had a choice, really - it was either a Porsche, an affair with an 18-year-old waitress or opening a restaurant. The restaurant is the one that we landed on," (more)...
- 9/9/2008
- by By Simon Reynolds
- Digital Spy
The Restaurant's Raymond Blanc has said he has no desire to wade into celebrity chef feuds. The French restaurateur claimed that he is uncomfortable with the confrontational approach taken by fellow TV chef Gordon Ramsay, who has previously attacked Delia Smith for cooking with pre-packaged food. Speaking to Digital Spy about rowing TV chefs, Blanc said: "I don't want to go there, I truly don't want to go there. Sure, I detest part of the approach that some chefs have taken, but I will never be personal. Never, never, never. What's the point? What's the point? What for? You gain nothing." Blanc also revealed that he would enter his own reality TV show if he was starting out in the restaurant business today, but warned (more)...
- 9/6/2008
- by By Simon Reynolds
- Digital Spy
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