All language subtitles for My.Million.Pound.Menu.S01E01.Epoch.and.ShrimpWreck.1080p.WEBRip.x264-CBFM

I'm Fred Sirieix. I've worked in the
restaurant industry for 25 years.

Right now, the UK's restaurant scene
is the envy of the world...

..and all it takes is one great idea

to make a fortune
on the high street.

But has the next generation
of restaurants got what it takes

to become a multimillion pound
business?

Over the next six weeks,
here in Manchester,

the food capital of the North,

12 of the most exciting
new restaurant ideas

are in with the chance
of a life-changing investment

from some of the UK's most
respected investors.

These are the men and women who can
turn an idea into a national brand.

We're looking
at putting a lot of money

into the absolute best concepts.

This is the kind of model
that you dream of.

If I find the right operator,
I'll be fighting for it.

Each week the investors
will give the people

behind two great new food ideas
a unique opportunity.

Ah, this is brilliant!

Their own pop-up restaurant.

Right, rock and roll, man.

They'll have just three days
to prove...

Nobody seems to know the table
numbers.

..they've got what it takes...
Utter disaster.

..to make it on the high street.

When you start to rush, that's when
you start to make more mistakes.

There's a big backlog of customers
at the door.

Yeah, yeah, yeah.
What are you going to do about it?

If I was to invest...

It'll take
half a million to £750,000.

Time to make some dough.

After the three days,

will the investors walk back
into the restaurant...

..and make them an offer?

It's a £600,000 lunch.

We are not going to leave
without an investment.

I'm sorry. The time is up.

The doors are open for business.

Welcome to Million Pound Menu.

What does it take to create
a smash-hit restaurant business?

Great food? Certainly.

Great people? Most definitely.

But first, you need a great idea.

Get it right, and you could
change the way people eat,

and make a lot of money
in the process.

The UK spends over £33 billion
a year on eating out,

and while conditions
may be challenging

on the high street right now,

investors are still on the hunt
for new ideas strong enough

to get the customers queueing.

This is our signature
fettuccine Alfredo.

It's going to blow your mind.

The men and women behind some of the
most successful businesses

on the high street...

This is our signature dish,
braised beef ragout.

..have met to hear ideas

from the next generation
of restaurant entrepreneurs...

Wholesome Junkies is vegan junk food
with a wholesome twist.

I could see our pizza
in Germany, Berlin.

..who think their concept
is worth big money.

We require an investment
of £225,000 to help us open

the first of hopefully many outlets.

Over 400 people competed for the
chance to run a trial pop-up,

to prove their idea
deserved investment.

Conceptually it is very simple
to do, it is very Instagrammable.

I have to say that I thought
the branding sucked.

The panel chose the two ideas
with the strongest food,

brand, and business plan.

I can't think of anywhere
where this will not be popular.

Then the investors
each had to decide

whether they wanted to pursue
the opportunity.

The food offer's really strong,
it screams "fun",

and I'd love to see it
in Manchester.

My name is Ewen Hutchison,

and I am the owner and founder
of ShrimpWreck.

The first idea
to get the investors excited.

A self-trained chef

who believes his shrimp burgers
could be the new fast food.

I'm putting this together to ask
for an investment of £100,000

to open up our first restaurant.
Thank you.

There is possibly a very good reason

why no-one's done that mid-market
very well,

between your cheap
local fish and chip shop,

and your slightly
higher-end fish offerings.

He obviously can work out of
a very small premises,

which we all agree
cuts down on the risk.

My name's David Page,

I was chief executive
at Pizza Express,

and I am an investor in restaurants.

I'd like to go and taste the food,
it looks brilliant.

ShrimpWreck is extremely simple.

If you've got
a much more extensive menu,

there are many more areas
to go wrong.

So if you've got shrimp in a bun,
you can get it for a very low price,

it tastes brilliant,
it's got massive roll-out potential.

I'm always keen to check out any
rising talent, so, yeah, I'd be in.

Next an idea for a restaurant
selling exclusively British produce.

Welcome to Epoch.

Our main aim is to bring together
the best British farmers,

wine producers, and craftsmen,

in order to bring you the most
unique British experience possible.

Ruth and Emily
need a sizeable £600,000

to open
their fine dining restaurant.

I think these two young women
are absolutely great.

I would love to see more women
succeeding in the industry,

and I would love to go and see
what they do in Manchester.

I am Lydia Forte,

I work for my family business,

which is Rocco Forte Hotels.

Luxury hotels are often considered
a bit old-fashioned,

and a bit behind the times,

and I think it's great to be able
to offer something

which is exciting and new,

and bring in a totally new clientele
to the space.

Going forward we have to get
the next generation ready,

so I would love to go
and check their food out,

and their wines as well.

My name is Atul Kochhar.
I have eight restaurants of my own.

When I look at some of
the young people

who are coming up with
fantastic concepts,

and they don't have any know-how
of running the restaurant,

I think that's where people like me
come in.

We partner with them, because
we appreciate their talent,

we see their energy, we see
their burning desire to succeed,

and I feel that,
if I like the concept,

I would want to invest £1 million.

The first ideas have been chosen.

One high street, one high-end.

Two investors are interested
in each idea.

Epoch and ShrimpWreck could both
end up with a major investment,

or both walk away with nothing.

Manchester has one of the most
dynamic food scenes in the UK.

The number of restaurants
has doubled in the last five years,

and now two new restaurants
are about to open for business.

They've got just three days
to make a big impression.

Get it right, and it could change
their lives.

The two ideas will take over
identical existing restaurant sites,

just 100 yards apart.

Today Ewen, and Ruth and Emily,

are about to see their new
restaurants for the very first time.

This is unreal.

It's a proper menu, not just written
in chalk on a board.

Yeah, this looks really cool.

Over the last month

they've worked with a designer

to bring their restaurant brand
to life.

It is exactly what I had in mind,
as well.

Love it.

Last night, it all sort of hit me.

To just be able to come
into this environment,

and be able to pitch my idea
to these investors, is amazing.

What's happening? This is it.
There you go, mate.

Good to know where the whisks are.
You have to know where
the whisks are.

27-year-old Ewen borrowed £3,000
from his parents to start
ShrimpWreck

18 months ago.

I hated my job.
I just went, "Sack this",

and quit, and then bought myself
a griddle and a fryer,

because that's all I could really
afford at the time.

Now Ewen wants £100,000
to start his first restaurant,

and kick off his dreams
of a high street chain.

You know, I was looking at
the market, and it's not been done.

I need to do it soon,
before someone else does it.

And that's now.

Ruth Hansom and Emily Lambert
were working together at The Ritz,

when they dreamt up Epoch.

Unlike ShrimpWreck,
it's never traded.

But now, for the next three days,
it will be their names on the door.

Oh, my gosh! It's off the plan.
Oh, my God!

This is amazing! It's real!
Oh, my God, it's gorgeous!

All the planning, and now seeing it,
like, all here, and, you know,

doing it with, like, my best friend
is just amazing.

Chef Ruth is 22,
and Emily, a sommelier, just 20,

but they've already worked at
one of the best hotels in the world.

How I actually got into the industry

is entering a competition
through school.

I did that when I was 16.

Came to London
for the national final.

I ended up then deciding,
"Oh, I want to be a chef."

Absolutely pitched out of North
Yorkshire, I was like,

"Mum, I'm moving to London."

Got on a train at 16 and
I've been in London ever since.

I'm Emily. I'd just turned 17

and I got offered a position
on the Ritz Academy.

I started in the restaurant
and then I just kind of found a love

for wine, and just, like,

the kind of bespoke personal service
the Ritz offered.

I think the hardest thing about
this industry might be the hours,

and there's a lot of things
you miss, like Christmas.

Like, I've not been home for
Christmas for the past five years,

but it is worth it.

So excited! Yeah.

Morning. Hey.
How are you? Good, thank you.

Ruth, how are you? I'm Fred.
Nice to meet you. Nice to meet you.

Hi, Emily. Emily, how are you?
Lovely to meet you.

Can I take my coat off.
Yes, of course, please,
let me take it for you.

Oh, that's very kind of you.
She's in her role already!

Thank you very much. Very good.

How are you feeling? Yeah, good,
just getting relaxed, I think.

Yeah. Just about. Because I remember
at your age, being 20,

working in a three Michelin star
restaurant

and opening my own place was
a dream of mine. We're so excited.

It's everything now,
we've quit our jobs.

You've quit your job? Yeah. And if
you quit an establishment like the
Ritz to pursue this,

you've got to be pretty confident.

So, tell me, what is the experience
going to be like

for a guest
coming in through that door?

We want it to
kind of be very homely.

We just want to give you
really good food,

really good wine and make sure
that comes together.

What you've told me now, just
requires incredible organisation,

incredible timing and communication
between the kitchen and the front.

Yeah. Well, we know each other and
we can, even just with a look,

we can kind of, like...
Tell what she's saying, you know.

Listen, girls, I think I'd better
let you get on with it,
because you are so busy.

I better start cooking some food.
Good luck. Thank you. Take care.

Nice to meet you. See you later.
Thank you so much. Thank you.

Halfway through day one...

..ShrimpWreck and Epoch

have each brought a core team
with them and they're busy prepping.

Tomorrow, in just 24 hours,

the investors will be
arriving for lunch.

Do you want to have a wee gander?

So tonight they will open
to the Manchester public

for their one and only practice run.

I'm very excited.

The two restaurants are getting
ready for their soft launch.

Soft launches are very well known,

an established practice
in the restaurant industry.

For both of them, it's their chance
to do one dry run

before the investors
turn up tomorrow.

It's going to allow them to iron
all the creases out.

It's got to be smooth.

In ShrimpWreck,

Ewen wants to deliver a
sit down restaurant experience.

So he's decided to offer 11 items -
almost double his usual menu.

His mains, the shrimp bun,
fish finger sarnie, and fish tacos,

will all sell for £7.50 each.

That's the shrimp bun. Yeah.

We've got the fish finger sarnie.

How many covers have you got?
61 tonight.

61?

You're joking. No.

You've got your work cut out.

We'll be OK.

I really like Ewen's concept.

The question for me is,

can he translate that street food
sensation into a restaurant?

Does he have what it takes
to run an operation,

to pay attention to details
and keep 61 customers happy

all at the same time?

Do you want to just pop
some butter in? Yep.

Ruth and Emily believe
they'd need £600,000

to get Epoch set up and cover costs
for a year before it makes a profit.

But with fine dining like this,
nothing comes cheap.

Most of the smaller dishes,
for example the cauliflower,

the eel, and the scallop,
are between £15-£18.

The main courses are £20-£27.

We want to support
British suppliers, the small-scale,

people who are going to find it hard
to sustain themselves.

So, for example, the scallops
are hand dived, it's not dredged.

The grouse, for example, is £26,
which people might think is crazy,

but it's a bird
that's only available
for three months of the year,

and that's why we've come
to these prices.

These dishes sound expensive,

but there's a real appetite
for Epoch's style of food and wine.

The fine dining sector is one of the
fastest growing markets in the UK.

Right, I'm going to get started
on the fish.

Experienced waiting staff
from Manchester are joining
the restaurant teams

to help with tonight's service.

How we doing? Ewen.
Jo, nice to meet you.

Sal. Sal. Nice to meet you, guys.

Sorry, my name's Emily.
Lovely to meet you.

I'm Ron, nice to meet you.
I'm Trish.
Trish, lovely to meet you.

With hours to go,

both restaurants are holding
a staff briefing

to tell everyone about the menu
and how things should run.

Basically, the food,

the shrimp bun, that's
this one here, they're kind of,

they're presented like
open sandwiches.

Tacos are grilled.
The fish finger sarnie,

it's kind of just
pretty self-explanatory.

OK, so this station's
the scallop dish.

So you've got the raw scallop,
obviously, and then this is raw,

so the tartare is mixed
with buttermilk and chives.

What's tartare? Tartare, just like
beef tartare, like, so raw,

it's raw and diced.

This is pretty new to me as well,
so...

Ask me questions, if you like,
and I'll try and answer them.

This one is the smoked eel.

Are these, is this all cold?

I don't really like... I don't
really like fish or cold fish.

Chacun a son gout, as they say.

What? Oh, it's
each to their own taste, in French.

It's British in here, though.

Oh, sorry.

Wow. They only talked about
the food and the wine.

Now, they were perfect at that.

We just wanted to say thank you so
much and we're really excited for

tonight. It's going to be amazing.

They thing that they failed to do

is talk about how the restaurant
is going to run tonight.

What's going to happen when
the customers go through that door,

what happens when they sit down?

I mean, these are very simple but
very crucial pieces of information

for the team. I have no idea
what's going to happen in there.

Good evening. Hi, welcome to Epoch.
How are we all?

Hello, guys. How're we doing?

Not too bad. Yeah...

From my own experience, I know how
stressful a first night can be.

Three fish tacos, veggie nuggets,
and a buffalo prawns. Yeah.

We all think it's romantic and fun.

Hi, guys, you OK?

It's not. It's like a battle.

It's blood, sweat, and tears.

Tonight will be
no gentle introduction.

Soft launches offer
half price food...

Would you like to have a look
at the wine list at all? Yes.

..so both restaurants
are fully booked twice over.

Two veggie burgers.

If you need anything else at all,
guys, just give me a shout.

Welcome to Epoch.

After just an hour open,
Epoch is running behind.

Guys, guys, I'm going to get
stressed in a second.

John, have you swapped pads?

I have two, I put it down there
and forgot about it.

BLEEP, was that me? They've only
took table one's orders.

Sorry. If you need to jump on
and take orders, do it,

because people are waiting.

Only one order's been placed
and a lot of people seated,

so if somebody doesn't
start taking the orders,

we're going to get slammed in here.

So somebody needs to
take some orders.

We should not be
stressing this much.

One more sole. How are you?

All right, yeah.

Can you do tap water
on the end table?

Table one, OK? Table one, OK.
Table one, tap water, please.

Yeah. How's it going? Nobody
seems to know the table numbers.

Really? So everyone's just shouting
drinks at me and then I make them...

But then which customers get what?

No, two seconds.
Sorry, Dee, could you

take down two red wine glasses on
table two for me

and I'll follow you with red wine?

Sorry. No, no, you do your thing.

Two red wine glasses. Yeah.

And that's the water
that you asked for.

And do I need to bring
the red wine now to table one?

To table...
No, this one is for table two.

There is a rule in restaurants -

only ever give one job at a time
to one person.

Emily just gave two in the space
of ten seconds. No good.

Take some more drinks, why not?

So did you deliver this water
to the right table?

I hope so. I'm going to guess
these ones, as well.

Where are you going on this one? I
don't know. OK, go like that.

I need more scallops, yeah.
The truffle thing,
I'll go and explain now.

Is that table eight, you taking this
to table eight? Yeah, yeah, yeah.

No, no, no, not table eight,
not table eight.

The food's been outstanding,

but front of house service
is just appalling.

The food itself
and the combinations,
the flavours were really good.

I know it's their first time
of the evening,

but I'd be upset paying full price,

with the service, not the food.
The food was lovely.

Two grouse. Where to?

Right, you are going to...

I don't know what table it is,
because it doesn't say.

Ian, we've got another check.

Two veggie buns, buffalo shrimp,
that's it.

Ewen's about to road test
ShrimpWreck

before the investors' lunch
tomorrow.

Do you like spicy?
Yeah, yeah. Buffalo.

Hey, guys. Here we go.

So we've got a sharing plate
and buffalo prawns.

Delicious. Even someone
who doesn't like fish,

would like that fish finger butty.

It's just gorgeous,
it was really, really good.

How are you, Ewen? I'm good.
You happy? Yeah, really happy.

Seem to have everything
under control.

How many covers so far?
I don't even know. Should I know?

No, it's just to think
about how many you have now

and how many more to come.
Yeah, good idea.

Maybe I'll count them up now.

Despite my worries,
going very well in here,

simply because
the concept is so simple,

and they've got it sussed out
in this kitchen.

I'm so sorry. That's all right.
Were you not happy with the service?

Between the first main
and the last was an hour, so...

The first main and
the last main was an hour?

I was hoping it was going to
go a lot smoother than it did.

I think I tried to
take on too many roles.

Instead of looking after
one of the stations, which I did,

I should have been more
taking a more managerial role,

making sure everything was smooth

coming from the kitchen
to the restaurant.

You did kind of back yourselves
up a bit, at the beginning.

Yeah.
We need to hit the ground running.

It's been quite tough
as best friends, actually,

because you can see each other,
like, struggling

and you just want to go and,
like, give them a big hug

but obviously you can't,
you've got to stay professional.

Today, Epoch and ShrimpWreck
are preparing for a lunch

that could change their lives.

The investors are coming,
and they want to know two things.

One, is the food good enough?

And two, can they be trusted
as people?

Will they deliver?
Have they got what it takes?

You know, they're here
because they like the concept,

so I just need to put across
that I can do the job...

..and that's what we're kind of
working towards just now,

making sure that it all
runs smoothly.

Next, do you want to do the butter?

I'm feeling quite good today,
actually.

It's made me a little bit more
nervous, but excited as well.

They may be young, but Ruth and
Emily have already made history,

and that's why they've
chosen their name.

Epoch actually means the start
of an historical period,

so within our professions, we both
think we're kind of helping to,

I don't know, get the ball rolling

with kind of moving women
forward in the industry.

She was the first female to ever win
Young National Chef of The Year.

Presentation
is absolutely everything.

I was actually
the first female sommelier ever

at the Ritz, since 1906,
so I'm very proud of saying that.

It's nice to kind of
hopefully change people's views

on women in hospitality,

and I think it's mainly
being told we can't do it

is why we want to do it even more.
Biggest drive, yeah.

No, no, no, no cutlery on any
tables, just the butter knife.

Over the next few days,
the investors will test

the restaurant's customer service
and business plans.

But their private lunch today
is all about the food.

Epoch is hosting Michelin-starred
restaurateur Atul Kochhar,

who's looking to expand
his UK restaurant portfolio.

I became the first Indian chef
to get a Michelin star in 2001,

and have never looked back.

I'm actually looking to
invest in new concepts,

but also the new cuisines.

For example, in the last five years
we have been crazy

about casual dining,

but I do believe that people would
want to go back to fine dining.

Amazing food, fantastic service,
great wine list,

but what people don't realise that
it's very investment-heavy business.

If I'm looking for
a restaurant in London,

I need to have a million pounds
in my pocket before I open my mouth.

Joining him, international
five-star hotelier Lydia Forte,

with hotels in London, Edinburgh,
and across Europe.

For them to impress me,

I need to see that the quality
of the food and the wine list

that they're offering is excellent.

I also want to see
that they're organised

and that they've thought
this pop-up through properly

and that they can deliver
a certain level of service.

Their CVs read like a dream,
to be honest,

and they both believe
in British food and British wines.

It has never been done before.

If I find a concept
that I think's really great,

I'll be fighting for it.

It's hard to find
really good concepts.

I'm not here for gambling, I'm here
for the next great business idea.

Hi. Miss Forte? Hi, yes.

Hello, I'm Emily. Hi, Lydia.
Lovely to meet you. Hello.

If you'd like to follow me,
I'll take you to your table.

Lunch today
could mean the difference

between Epoch opening
as a full-time restaurant

or Emily and Ruth
looking for new jobs.

There's the menu for you.

Thank you very much. Everything is
locally sourced, so, for instance,

peppercorn isn't British
so we dehydrate horseradish

and use that
as a peppery alternative.

On today's menu, scallops, grouse,
sole, and lamb loin,

all paired with exclusive
English wines.

What's one of the dishes
that really defines your concept?

Defines Epoch?
I would probably say the grouse.

Because it's kind of game season,

it's quite traditional
and quite important.

I really like grouse
and it's actually very...

It's quite hard to do well,
so I'd be interested to try that.

Absolutely, I second that.

Love it. Scallop as well.

Scallop is lovely.

I'm going to send out
the scallops with the Hindleap

and then I'll also give you
the Gusbourne pinot noir,

which goes really well
with the grouse and the truffle.

Would you ever consider not having
a purely British wine list?

I don't think I would,

because then it completely
takes away from our concept.

The concept you stand for.

We're going to do what we do well

and we're going to change
the dishes to match the wines.

She's lovely. Lovely.

And lots of product knowledge.

Lots of knowledge,
really passionate.

In ShrimpWreck,
Ewen's preparing for
his make-or-break investor lunch.

I need to make sure the food
is as good as it always is.

That's the first priority for me.

On his guest list,

one of Britain's most successful
investors, David Page.

He's grown some of the UK's biggest
brands, including Pizza Express,

Gourmet Burger Kitchen,
and Franco Manca.

What we like doing
is getting involved in businesses

that have very low price
and very high quality.

So they're quite easy to run,

and we have lots of customers
because of that.

There's a straight-line graph
in the UK,

it's called number of units
you can open in the UK,

and it's entirely driven by price.

So if your Happy Meal is 99p...

..you can open 2,500-3,000 stores
in the UK.

If you are an Ivy
and you are £50-£60 a head,

you can possibly open
a maximum of 30.

Joining him is Scott Collins,

co-founder of burger
and cocktail group MEATliquor.

I think in this financial climate,

when people are going out
more than ever,

they look for value for money

and that'll be the food,
the drink, the service.

I'm interested in ShrimpWreck

because he thinks he can open
a restaurant for £100,000.

If he can, it's quite a good trick,

so I'm looking forward
to learning that.

Hello, Ewen? Hi, guys.
Hiya. Ewen. David.

Nice to meet you. How're you doing?
Scott.

Scott, how are you? Nice
to meet you. I'm good, I'm good.

Come take a seat over here.
Best table in the house!

Good.

Yes. So...

..we've got our menu here. The three
mains that we do in the van

are the shrimp bun, the fish tacos,
fish finger sarnie,

And we do squid
and we also do buffalo prawns.

And everything you do here is

exactly the same recipe
as what you do from the van? Yes.

On today's lunch menu,
a sharing platter for two.

I've got some fries for you.

So you've got
your fish finger sandwiches,

your two mini shrimp buns, squid,
tacos and a buffalo sauce as well.

I'll just grab you some
side plates as well.

Squid first, I reckon.

I'd have some of that
but I wouldn't use a dip.

Which one did you have?
I didn't, I had it blind.

A lot of salt. You can taste
the Maldon sea salt.

Good thing I like salt. Christ!
Good thing I like salt.

Just your doctor doesn't. No.

And has this got not only salt on
but presumably chilli or something?

That was Cajun spice.
Cajun spice, that's it.

Put a sharing plate on
so they can try a bit of...

..well, a lot of the menu
and I'm sure they'll enjoy it.

Can I say that's so salty I'm not
going to have any more of that? Yep.

Wow. Thank you.

So we have the grouse,
pickled blackberries,

some roasted chestnuts, celery,

and then I've kept the sauce
quite light to go with the wine.

It looks beautiful. Beautifully
cooked, beautifully presented.

Yeah, that's the way to cook it.

It's very quiet over here.

I mean... Was there supposed
to be gravy with that?

Yes, I think the sauce...

Very gentle, OK. Would you like some
more? Can I just grab a bit more?

Of course, of course.
I just want to try it a bit.

Can we have a little bit more sauce?

Genuinely surprised
by how good this is.

It's attention to detail,
the flavour, the texture,

the combination of the ingredients.

Very, very accomplished cooking.

How was everything?

Chef, that dish was amazing.
It was really delicious.

Amazing. Only one complaint.

It was too small! Oh, no!

First impressions of Epoch...

..actually blew me away.

I was so impressed by
how young they both are,

yet the quality of food

and the quality
of the whole offering,

clearly the wine
that they'd managed to present,

I wouldn't blink
if I saw some of that food

in a two Michelin-starred
restaurant tomorrow.

You become a chef because
you want to make somebody happy,

like, above everything.

So to actually see their initial
reaction is super important.

She might be 22 but she cooks
like somebody who's 45.

Her understanding, her depth,
her precision is just mind-boggling,

to be honest. I'm blown away.

Bring it in.

Thank you, girls!

As a customer, you couldn't
have a better experience.

As an investor...

..it is still very possible
that it doesn't stack up.

I've got issues with
everything I've tasted so far.

Some of them aren't positive.

That has got too much salt on.

Tacos... That is just terrible.

Supermarket bought.

And this, I can't taste
anything but salt.

Ewen. And these aren't sweet
potato... Who prepared that?

Have you tried it? Come over and...

We think the quality of the fish
and the prawns you've got

are really good.

And the cooking of it...

What's happened there?

Very, very salty.

Yeah. And it dominates,
actually, the quality of the...

..ingredients.
Is that how you'd like it?

It's not.
This is all new to me, you know?

I'm not a trained chef.

I was disappointed
when I took my first mouthful.

It was such a powerful taste,
for me,

that it rather destroyed my palate
for everything else I ate

during the whole meal.

I mean, the guy's relatively
new to the business.

He could have fallen at
the first hurdle, but he didn't.

He seemed open to criticism,
which was just as well.

Thanks very much for your time.

They were a bit disappointed
by a couple of the dishes.

There was a few negative comments,

but they were such easy,
easy tweaks

and I'm willing
to work with it, if it means...

..being more successful, having
a more successful business.

It's easy fixes.

The investors
have now tried the food.

Very good feedback
for Ruth and Emily.

I'm afraid not so good for Ewen.

Tomorrow lunchtime the restaurants
will open to the public again,

and the investors will
watch their every move.

But Ruth and Emily and Ewen
still have more work to do today.

They have a high-powered meeting
with the investors

to review the financials
and the business plan.

The figures have to stack up,

otherwise it might well
be game over tonight.

Over half of all new restaurants
fail within the first two years,

so Ruth and Emily need to prove
they're worth the £600,000

they're asking for.

It could be the greatest lunch
I've ever had,

but if the financials
don't add up...

..then it's a no from me.

As the investors are
in competition with each other,

they'll each have an hour alone
with the operators

to interrogate
their financial plans.

I think the biggest concern
about both of them

would be the inexperience.

But I guess that's where people like
me come in, and we can help them,

mentor them and run the business
with them, for them.

But, you know, if they don't make
mistakes, they're not going to grow.

I went through your deck.

One thing obviously is missing,
is the financials.

OK?

What average spends would you
see for lunch versus for dinner,

in a realistic world?

About 65, 70 for lunch
and then around 90 for dinner.

So 70 for lunch is quite a lot,
even for Mayfair.

And how would you break it down,
then, for that £70 lunch?

About £40 for food, roughly,
and then about £20 for beverage.

OK, so that's sort of
a glass and a half and a coffee.

No coffee. No coffee. Oh, yeah.

Not British!

Their brand name is not well known

and we would probably have to
put a lot into marketing them,

but I think the story is sellable

and I think we could make something
out of that.

If we were to go forward,
would you be investing?

As in? Would you have any money
to invest in the place?

Yeah, definitely. Financially?

Obviously it would be
something we can discuss.

I think we've both got
money that possibly, like,

obviously depending on
what was offered, we can find

or...and what we have already
could be expanded on.

When my business partner asked me
to invest, I was penniless,

but I remortgaged my house and
I put £50,000 in the business,

and I know how much it can motivate
a person to keep that place going,

because it means that's the
livelihood, that's all you have.

At the end of the meeting,

the investors can choose to
spell out the offer they make,

if, and only if,
they decide to invest tomorrow.

The way that I would invest,

if the experience tomorrow
really goes well,

and after a lot more thought
on our side,

to bring you in to one of
our luxury five-star hotels.

You would get full-time salaries

and on top of that
we would pay you a small fee

for the brand and the concept

and then we would offer
a percentage of profits

and our expected return
would have to be, ideally,

within about three years
because, obviously,

we could be investing up to
half a million in it and that

would be more or less the type of
offer that we would want to make.

That's such an exciting offer.
Definitely something that...

..we would be interested in.

I am very positive about them now.

As of today, I think a huge amount
rests on how they perform tomorrow.

Going forward...

..if I was to invest in this,

I think we're looking at
easily from £750,000.

OK, it will take about that much.

But that is the level of investment
I would feel comfortable

going with you two.
Do you feel comfortable with that?

Yes. Thank you.

I'm really looking forward
to tomorrow

to see how you work with
the roomful of people.

Tomorrow's service will be
the deciding factor for me.

Every business,
whether it is a coffee shop

or a three Michelin star restaurant,

if they cannot be consistent,
they will not survive.

If Atul and I are both interested,

I think our offers would
both be quite different and

it remains up to Emily and Ruth
to decide

which offer interests them most.

Let's see.
A lot to play for tomorrow.

Atul is potentially offering,
like, £750,000. It's crazy.

Obviously, then, we have to put
money in ourselves, as well,

but is that worth it,
does that make us want it more?

Lydia is offering
obviously everything, salary.

I can't even comprehend it.
Like, pinch me, it's so surreal.

We have to smash tomorrow now.

The pressure is on
but I'm so proud of you, OK?

You, too. OK, I love you.

Now it's Ewen's turn.

He's asking for £100,000.

After serious problems
with the food earlier,

his business plan will
need to be convincing.

Hi. How are you doing? I'm OK.

Um...

As you can tell, I was really
looking forward to lunch.

The first bite
was rather a shock-horror

because it somehow destroyed...
with the over-salted squid.

Do you know? I'm not focusing on

these negative things
that have been brought up.

I want to tweak a couple of things
and see the customers' reaction,

if they're still enjoying the food
as much as they did the first night.

These figures, I spent...

..a lot of time over.

Our very first restaurant,
that cost £250,000.

Our last restaurant cost £450,000.

I'd be surprised if anyone could
open a restaurant for £100,000.

I have got a genuine
interest in him.

Whether it's helping him
or going into business,

we'll see in the next 24 hours,
I guess.

Pleasure's all mine. Nice one.
Cheers, mate. See you later on.

I've made a lot of mistakes

and I'd be very happy
to share them with him

and they're probably
worth a lot of money

because they lost me a lot of money.

What is your net food cost?

Shrimp bun for example.

That cost me £1.80.
To construct the whole thing? Yes.

And then we...
And you sell it at £7.50?

Yes. Here. Normally you
sell it at £6.50, don't you?

In the trailer, yes.

That's a good margin.

Scott and David will need
more convincing tomorrow

if they are to even
think about an offer.

I always like to invest in
things that I actually like to eat

but the issue is he's actually
got quite a successful operation

doing what he's doing.

And I don't really... If he's
got a successful operation,

why should I tell him to
unspice his calamari?

In all the companies I've got,

I have got co-shareholders who will
be saying to me, on my shoulder,

"Hang on, you didn't enjoy
the first meal.

"Why did you even go back
for the second meal?"

I would say,
"Well, one shot's not enough."

You've got to give somebody
two shots.

BLEEP. Not everyone is
going to like your food.

See you tomorrow lunch. Yeah, yeah.

I've said I'll tweak
a few things for tomorrow

because that's all they are,

little, little things
that just need a bit of changing

and he might be blown away tomorrow.

BLEEP, it's not over.

It's the third and final day

for the teams behind
Epoch and ShrimpWreck.

Now they have to prove
they can run a restaurant

for full-paying customers.

The investors are
coming in for lunch

and they will sit and watch
their every move

before deciding
whether to invest or not.

For Epoch, it might well be a fight
to the death between Lydia and Atul.

However, they have got to show
their class.

They've got to show that they can
keep their cool under pressure.

Hello, girls. How are you?
Morning. Really good. How are you?

Very good, thank you. So how was
your meeting yesterday?

Very exciting. They really, really
loved our concept.

So did you feel energised
after this meeting?

Yeah. Definitely.
It picked us back up from Monday.

Monday was hard and you
had to lick your wounds?

Yeah.
But today you're feeling good?

Until about four o'clock today,
we have to give it everything.

There's a plan B for everything.

If this happens
then we need to do this.

Running like a Swiss watch?

Yeah.

Very good, very good. Anyway,
the proof is in the pudding.

We have to see the service.

Good luck. Thank you.

This service could, like,
change our lives, you know.

If we have an amazing service and
everything goes smoothly and well,

there's a potential that
they'll offer it and if not

then we're back
to the drawing board.

Hi, everyone. Hi!

Can I just have
a quick word with you?

Let's just go and stand over here.

Just to let you know,
a lot does depend on today. Yup.

You guys have to be the ones running
the show on a day-to-day basis,

so I have to really feel
that you're capable of that.

Obviously, I know you have great
experience, but you're both young,

so that's a concern for me. OK.

I'm really nervous for them.

I haven't slept about it
all night, actually.

I would really love to bring them
in, but I genuinely cannot

unless they can manage
their operations

to a five-star
luxury hotel standard.

Like, literally, that's put
on pressure too much now.

We've quit our jobs, we've
literally left everything for this.

We have five hours
to completely impress them.

I love you all
and I wish us all the best.

OK. OK.

How are you, Ewan? I'm very good.

How did it go yesterday?
It was an emotional day.

Up and down,

but today, we've put much more time
into the mix of the squid.

They said it was just
a bit too overpowering.

What, in terms of the spices?
In terms of the spice and the salt.

In Glasgow, they like it hot.

Apparently. I'm more than happy to
change it, and if it helps anything

then we'll just run with it.

It is a good attitude to have.
Whatever I take away from this,

it's only going to
come out positive.

I'm looking forward
to today's service.

Well, you deserve to succeed, Ewan.
Good luck today.

Thank you. Cheers, see you in a bit.

Everything is ready over here? Yes.

Today, they open for lunch
to the public...

Welcome to Epoch. Thank you.

Do the water first,
put the water on the table.

..and the investors want to see
if they can handle a restaurant

full of paying customers.

You need to get the cutlery
down now, straightaway.

They're doing the dishes now,
it's almost created.

So there's a shrimp bun
with no bacon, that's this one.

At ShrimpWreck, Ewan is hoping
the investors will see

how much the public love his food.

When you get into bed
with an operator,

you've got to make sure the food
offer stays the same, or improves.

I'm hoping the food
will be better this time.

Hello. Very good afternoon.

After their chaotic soft launch,

Epoch are about to charge
£60 a head for lunch.

Atul and Lydia will expect
to see a first-class operation

to match those prices.

I want to see the service.

I want to see how they would
perform under stress.

It needs to be faultless.

I really want to see
an efficient service.

This is a lot of pressure,

but every day in service
is a lot of pressure.

Hi. Good afternoon.
Can I take your coat? Yes, please.

Hello. Thank you.

If you'd like to follow me.

Thank you. So you've got roasted
baby beetroot, beetroot puree,

the discs here are pickled beetroot
and then beetroot crisps.

On table five, still water, and
two glasses of sparkling wine.

Things look more or less
under control.

So that's everything, guys?
What about drinks?

ShrimpWreck is fully booked today,

with 50 covers due through the door.

It's very, very nice.
It tastes fresh.

We've got the sharing platter.

We just wanted a bit of everything.
Yeah, it's really tasty.

So they've ordered buffalo prawns.

See if they like the tweak
we've done on that

to lower the heat, and then
they've got a ShrimpWreck chowder,

and a shrimp bun,
and some of the squid to start.

Right. I'm going to go
for the agitator.

That looks completely different
from what I just...

Much better. Tempered the heat,
and put less on.

That's good. It's nice he listened.

Once again, the actual ingredient,
the base ingredient, is fantastic.

So fresh.

Comments card on the table.

Whip that, see what they said?

"Go easy on the salt."

Quality of staff, friendliness
of staff, speed of service,

appearance of staff and value
for money was all "very good".

Can I get table nine away?

Yes, we're going now.
One lamb, one turnip,

make sure you've got cutlery down.

At Epoch,
lunch is about to be served.

I just need you floating around,
topping up water,

asking if there's empty dishes,
taking them.

Check cutlery.
I need cutlery everywhere.

Good afternoon. Good afternoon.

So we've got
some Smith's Smokery eel,

roasted baby beetroot,
beetroot puree,

and some horseradish
mayonnaise as well.

Enjoy. Looks beautiful. Beautiful.

We need some cutlery.

Need some?

Cutlery. That would be helpful.

Yep.

No cutlery here.

See how long it takes someone...
Let's not say anything.

Maybe that's mean,
but no-one has noticed.

No-one's noticed yet. Absolutely.

If I had two potential investors,
who could make such a difference,

really give them what they want,
in my restaurant,

I would be watching them
like a hawk.

My view has always been,
if we are sitting and waiting,

it's not a good sign.

Thanks.

Thank you.

So far...

..not luxury standards.

Emily, can I have a quick word?
OK, the investors' starters.

They were waiting a while because
no-one gave them any cutlery.

OK.

It's OK, everything's fine.
We've just got to keep checking.

No, no... OK.

Need to keep an eye on them...
Stop touching me, stop touching me.

Thank you. Can you just walk around
and help them, please? Absolutely.

Thank you.

Ron, what's happening
with the investors?

Are they having wine
with this course or not?

Yes. Can you do it for me now,
please?

Thank you.

So the next dish we have
is the megrim sole.

Beautiful. This is something
that we didn't have,

so we're trying
something a bit different.

I'll bring a new plate out
as well.

It does look nice, I have to say.
It does look great.

Thank you.

Thank you very much.

Thank you.

Thank you very much.

Sorry. My fault.
No, no, my fault entirely.

It is and it isn't your fault.
Should've had a tray.

Anyway, not slick. Not slick.

The food came out pretty quickly,
and everyone was very happy with the

quality, nothing slipped there.

The service in the restaurant
was a little bit shoddy.

The fact that Emily and Ruth
were both involved in the service,

means that there's no-one casting
a beady eye over all the operations.

Guys, who's having chowder?

We're sharing everything.

Sharing, right. I'll grab
extra side plates, then.

Enjoy. Thank you.
Thank you. Thank you.

I just think the whole thing
is overextended.

Probably because he wants
to do this.

That's really good, yeah.

You see, I'm much more interested
in the actual, basic product.

The basic product
is absolutely amazing.

It's all the other stuff
on top of it

that sometimes works,
and sometimes doesn't.

The ingredient quality is brilliant.

The bun is brilliant,

and almost you shouldn't
do anything other than that

because it's absolutely fantastic.

I think he's extended his menu
to appeal to a restaurant,

and I don't think it's worked
very well.

I'm still relatively undecided.

At the moment,
I can't give a verdict.

With the best ideas in the world,
there's no guarantee it'll work,

but there's more than a germ
of an idea, it could start.

As per financially investing,
I'm still thinking.

Lunch is over.

Now the pressure is on
the investors.

They have to decide whether
the idea is worth their money.

I'm a bit conflicted,
and now I have a go away and...

..really think hard.

Thank you for the lovely meal.
Thank you. And the service.

Thank you.

The lunch at Epoch was great.

It's not without teething trouble,
to be honest.

The food was amazing, service...

..a bit all over the place,
in my opinion.

At this stage, while it's not
a deal-breaker, it's very important.

I want to go away
and think about it.

I am not too sure at the moment
until I've done my own maths.

How was service?
It was good, yeah. Smooth.

Well, that's it.
It's the end of the three days.

Yeah. You came in for one thing,
one thing only, securing investment.

Yup. But now it's up to them.
The pressure is on them.

I've given them a deadline. Yeah.

So I've given them an hour on the
clock, and in one hour, hopefully,

they will come back through
that door and make you an offer.

You know, I've done
what I could have.

You'll just have to wait
and see now.

Ewan came here
looking for £100,000.

If David or Scott don't return with
an offer of investment by 6.30pm,

he'll walk away with nothing.

How do you feel?

Nervous.

This hour is really dragging.

Dragging on.

It's a crazy feeling.

It's like it's just been...

It's been like a little bubble
the last few days.

Just with potentially
such a massive outcome.

Oh...

Ewan.

I'm sorry, but...

..I don't think they're coming.

Mm. Doesn't look like it.

No.

Tried my best, eh?

Obviously, disappointed.

But, you know,
it is what it is and...

..I'll still...
I'll make it happen.

Keep working towards it.
I'll make it happen.

What he's done is taken a very
good street van operation,

and the advancement to restaurant
level hasn't really worked.

Plus the fact that my first
impression, my first bite,

was poor.

It was a poor impression and it
never really recovered from that.

If maybe my first bite
had been brilliant,

I had chosen another dish, it might
have affected my whole outlook.

He won't commit money, but Scott
does have ideas to help Ewan grow.

I'm not ready to invest
in Ewan right now but,

further down the line,
there's definite potential.

Meanwhile I'm going
to get him more experienced,

seeing inside various
different kitchens,

which I'm happy to help with.

It's going to help him
broaden his horizons,

and then, in three to six months,
who knows?

Then there may be
an investment forthcoming.

It's 7.30pm.

And now it's Emily and Ruth
who have to wait.

Atul and Lydia have a deadline
of 8pm to walk through the door

and make their investment offer.

If they both come back,

Ruth and Emily will have to choose
between competing investors.

Tummy is, like, turning.

What about you?

Yeah, same.

I'm so nervous. Are you? Yes.

How are you, Ruth?

Yeah, inside I'm just
a little bit tense.

I mean, you've done
incredibly well.

I mean, these three days have been
a roller-coaster, haven't they?

Definitely. There's been lots of
ups and lots and lots of downs.

But to come this far...

You know what I mean?
It's a bit like climbing Everest.

And you're 20.
Not many people would do that.

It's remarkable.

I would have never done that at
your age. I wouldn't have done it.

My heart is racing.

Hold hands.

Just don't squeeze it too tight.
Sorry.

Atul! Hello.

Were you getting worried? Yes.

Just a little bit.
You like to cut it fine!

Good to see you.

Ladies, how are you? Good.
A lot better now. Yeah!

Good to see you. Great to see you.

Well, I think that we have
to wait a couple of seconds

because Lydia could still come in,
and I think it is only fair.

It's absolutely fair.

I'd better put my jacket on
my chair, just in case she does.

It was a really close call for me.

What worried me,
at the end of the day,

was the quality of the service
in front of house.

I just couldn't risk doing something
that was less than 100%.

So you came here.

Yes. You must have an offer?

I do. Let's hear it.

Let me say that it's been
an amazing experience

to get to know both of you
over two meals.

It was really impressive.

All that puts a massive smile
on my face.

It'll be a joy to be able
to work with you.

So I am happy to make you an offer.

I am happy to invest...

..anything between
£750,000 to £1 million.

But it'll be a lot of hard work,
girls.

Sorry. It's OK.

Don't make me cry, OK?

That wouldn't be good.
This one never has emotions.

But, yeah.
This is, like, so surreal.

Thank you so much.
You are very welcome.

I can't even explain
how I'm feeling right now.

I literally am, like,
so lost for words.

Thank you so much for
believing in us.

I'm happy that you are happy
to be my partner.

It's a big moment for me too.

I just don't want to cry,
that's all.

Don't make me cry, I look horrible.

Come here!

I'm feeling very happy,
to be honest.

I really wanted to work with
these two young ladies.

THEY CHEER

My ethos has always
been supporting young people

coming into the industry and
giving them all the right things

that they can have, to be honest.

I've got a strong feeling that
this pair will be the shining light

for a very long time to come.

Cheers! Cheers! Cheers! Cheers!
Well done.

To your future, girls. Thank you.

Amazing! Unheard of!

£1 million! £1 million!

Can you believe it? It just goes
to show, in this industry,

it doesn't matter how young you are,

if you put your mind to it,
you can do it.

So who's the boss? Um...

I guess we all take control
of our different areas.

It might sound a bit of a...

Cop out?

Do you know what's happening
with all these people?

They're all waiting?
Yeah, they all waiting.

Oh, the fries are off.

We are running
a little bit behind...

Yeah, mate, don't cry. No.