All language subtitles for My.Million.Pound.Menu.S01E02.Finca.and.Wholesome.Junkies.1080p.WEBRip.x264-CBFM

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 a 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 concept.

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.

Oh, this is brilliant.

Their own pop-up restaurant.

All 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...

That's a 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.

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...

HE SIGHS

..and make them an offer?

It's a £600,000 lunch.

We are not going to leave without
an investment.

I'm sorry, but time is up.

The doors are open for business.

Welcome to Million Pound Menu.

Every year, we spend over
£33 billion in the UK eating out.

No wonder the investors are looking
for the next big thing,

a new idea could make them a
fortune.

Times might be challenging
on the high street,

but chains based on strong, simple
concepts are still making money

in towns and cities across the UK.

So what is the next big idea
to get us queuing for a table?

Well, we might be about to find out.

Hi, I'm Paul Mason. I'm the founder
of The Food Sailor.

The men and women behind some of the
most successful businesses on the
high street...

At the end of the day,
what you do get is a truly delicious
cheese toasty.

..have met to hear ideas from
the next generation of restaurant
entrepreneurs...

You know, we do want
to be the best,

to make the best burger
they've ever had.

..who think their concept is worth
big money.

There's an explosion
of these concepts.

They're really successful.

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

to prove their idea was worth
investment.

Conceptually, it's very simple
to do, it's very Instagrammable.

The panel chose the two ideas
with the strongest food, brand

and business plan.

Finca is a Cuban street-food
concept based in Liverpool

which has been trading there for
the past 18 months.

The first idea to be selected -

a group of friends who think
Britain's high street

is ready
for a Cuban food revolution.

The reason why we chose Cuban street
food is because we believe

it's a cuisine that hasn't really
been delved into.

There's also a huge opportunity for
drink sales in our restaurant.

We have trialled our Cuban cocktail
menu at some of the pop-up events

that we've done and it's been
very, very successful.

The young team at Finca
are asking for £150,000 to open
their first proper place.

I think this business
is very much of the moment.

Great team, great brand,
great product.

I think they're fantastic.

Such a cool new concept.

In Berlin, we've got this rooftop
bar on top of our hotel,

the room there, which I think
would just be amazing.

I couldn't see a Cuban surname
in the four owners.

It looks authentic.

They also did say THEIR take on
Cuban food.

Just raising a point.

They've got a great brand,
they seem incredibly passionate.

There was nothing I saw that didn't

tick pretty much all the boxes.

Food offer's really strong,

screams fun, and I'd love to see it
in Manchester.

My name is Jeremy Roberts.

I'm the CEO of Living Ventures,

which is a group of 45 or so
restaurants.

Finca excites me.

It's sexy. I think
it's a great name.

I do see a huge amount of potential
for the booze side of things,
the bar element to it.

I think this has definitely got the
opportunity to be a national brand.

You know, 10, 15 sites across
the UK, unquestionably.

My name's Darrel.
I'm a partner at Imbiba.

We are ultimately looking to build
these businesses to 10, 15 units.

And that requires investment of
up to five, six, seven million.

If there's a chemistry,
if there's a spark there,

we will pursue it hard.

Hi, my name is Chelsea and
I love, love, love, love food.

Next, a 27-year-old who wants
to sell vegan food that appeals
to everyone.

Wholesome Junkies is vegan junk food
with a wholesome twist.

It's an exciting new way of
looking how to eat vegan food.

Chelsea's after £95,000
to start her first restaurant.

I want to take Wholesome Junkies
to the next level.

And that means having my own unit

and to work with a really
nice, big, lovely team.

Thank you so much for watching

and I really hope you share
the same vision as I see. Bye!

I thought was she was super
enthusiastic, which is great,

but I have to say that I thought
the branding sucked.

I'm trying to think of somebody
who would want to go

and have an unhealthy fried bit
of vegan food.

I don't mind the idea
of vegan junk food.

My name's Chris Miller.

She's trying to do vegan junk food.

The junk food burger market in
the UK is a £3 billion market.

So if she can take a fraction
of that market,

then it will be a very exciting
investment opportunity.

I would like to be able to see one
of these in every university town

across the UK.

The ideas have been chosen.

There's just one person interested
in Wholesome Junkies,

but four investors could end up
fighting over Finca.

Wholesome Junkies and Finca are open
today for business in Manchester.

They are here to prove
they've got what it takes
to take over the high street.

Get it right and they could
secure an investment that will
change their life for ever.

The two ideas will take over
identical existing restaurant sites

just 100 yards apart.

Today, Chelsea and the Finca team

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

This opportunity is absolutely huge.

We're going to be meeting some of
the biggest investors in the UK.

This is looking good, that.

Nice menu, that. Let's get going.
Let's do it.

Yes, laddie.

Over the last month, they've been
working with a designer

to bring their restaurant to life.

This is class. This is superb.

We're not going to stop fighting
for this.

We're going to work as hard
as we can to make sure that
everything goes well.

This opportunity is huge,
and if we get there
that would be amazing, yeah.

Not IF we get there,
WHEN we get there.

Finca was born 18 months ago as a
Cuban-inspired pop-up in Liverpool.

I'm Joe. I look after
the PR and marketing.

And that'll buzz for you
when it's ready.

Hi, I'm Michael. I'm one of
the directors here at Finca.

I also help plan the food,
the menus.

My name's Oli and I'm also the
head chef alongside Michael.

34-year-old Michael
went on holiday to Cuba and
fell in love with the food.

A lot of people come, they've never
tried Cuban food before.

All right, guys?

It's nice when they come back and
say, "The food changed my life."

We'd love to get the first Finca
open, but we are ambitious,

so we're looking at five Fincas
in the first five years.

Opposite Finca, Manchester local
Chelsea is also about to see

her restaurant for the first time.

Being here and doing this is
the most exciting thing
I've ever done in my life.

Oh, I love it.

I'm a bit of a tree hugger.

Perfect. An actual kitchen.

I'm used to working off this.

After ten years working
front of house in restaurants,

Chelsea took a gamble last year
and set up a vegan food stall.

The first event that I did,
I did really, really well at.

I thought, "This is easy,
this is how it works."

No. The next five markets
I earned nothing, I lost money.

But I carried on and persevered and
I'm finally getting there now

where I'm making good money
on each event.

There are now nearly two million
vegans and vegetarians in the UK.

Chelsea wants £95,000 to set up
a restaurant

to help her capture the market.

Veganism is becoming really popular,
and it's sort of peaking at
the moment.

And it was now or never, really.

It was either miss the boat
or catch the wave.

Tomorrow, in just 24 hours,
the investors will be arriving
for lunch.

We need to get started, like, ASAP.

Because there's quite a bit to do.

So this evening, both restaurants
will open to the Manchester public

for their one and only practice run.

Tonight will be their soft launch.

They will be serving real customers
at just half the price.

It's a standard industry practice,

and it's their one chance to get it
right before the investors come.

Got bevs in.

Both restaurants have brought their
own teams to help in the kitchen

and with front of house,

including Chelsea's best friend
Faye.

When she first made me, like,
try something I was, like, "Er..."

And then I ate it and I was like,
"Oh, my God, mate, this is amazing!"

Hello. Hello. How are you?
You OK?

So you are talking about
unhealthy junk vegan food.

Yes. Isn't it a contradiction?

Yeah, exactly.

It's a little bit wacky,
which kind of just goes with me.

So it's a little bit of
what everybody loves,

the naughty food, the fried foods,

but sort of making it a little bit
healthy at the same time.

What is the actual USP
of your brand?

The demand for meat can't keep up

with a population
that's ever-growing,

so we need to find new ways
to be sustainable.

I mean, I love meat.

Yeah. Would I love your food?

I reckon we'll win you over, Fred,
definitely. Yeah?

All right. Listen, good luck.

Enjoy. Bye-bye. Thank you so much.
See you later.

Thank you, Fred.

Can you slice the apples into
wedges, please?

Almost a third of the UK say they
ate less meat last year.

So, Chelsea's hoping her junk food
approach has mass appeal.

So I need them about a centimetre
thick.

Her shrooms, breaded mushrooms,
sell for £5.

And super sprouts with Parmesan and
aioli sell for £3 a dish.

But for £6.50 you could have a bite
of her bestseller.

If there's one dish that I could
get the investment on

it's my battered
cauliflower burger.

It's called
"no plucky fried chicken"

because no chickens are harmed,

and it's definitely the
most popular dish.

Hello, how are you? Hey!

Hello. How are we? You good?
I'm Joe. Nice to meet you, Joe.

How are you? Bonjour. I have
no idea what Cuban food is.

I mean, I know Fidel Castro,
I love Cuban cigars.

I have no idea what to expect.

So it's centred around
the Cuban sandwich, the Cubano.

So is it like the ham and cheese
baguette in France?

It's got the gammon pork shoulder.

Oh, it's got gammon as well?

It IS like the ham and cheese.

I can't wait to try the food, and
I've got some very, very good news.

We don't have one, or two, or three,
but four -

four investors really interested
in your concept.

Amazing. So, tomorrow
they will be here.

Nervous now, though. Good.
Kicking in, kicking in.

Enjoy.

See you later. Bye-bye.

Let's get back to work. Yeah, yeah.
Let's get cracking now. Come on.

Finca's menu features a range of
Central American delicacies.

Their twice-fried plantain fritters
sell for £4.

Their Cuban fried chicken
with pickled watermelon is £7.

Their signature dish, the Cubano,

is a thick grilled sandwich
that Cubans love.

It's £7.

It does take a bit of time in the
building of it

and the cooking time.

So I reckon that's probably
the most challenging.

Me.

It's 6pm.

In an hour,
Finca and Wholesome Junkies

will open as restaurants
for the first time.

We are about to open the doors.

Um...

Are we all excited?

Yes. Are you excited?

I am nearly excited.

In my own restaurant, I love
that feeling before service.

It's the anticipation.

Everything must be ready.

Once the first customers walk
through the door, the battle is on.

Hello there. Is it Charlotte?

It's me, yes. Your server's going
to take you to the table,
show you where to go.

With food at half price,
tonight's soft launch is popular,

so both restaurants face
two full sittings.

Cheers. First check's on.
It's all go.

The sweet potato fries.

Finca Fresco and then empanadas?

Good stuff.

Half an hour in,
Finca are at full stretch.

One veg Cubano, one meat Cubano.

Three portions of fries.

Cubano and tostadas, please, mate.

Just be nice to get the first
few orders out

and get in a bit of
a rhythm and things like that.

But the sweet potato fries are

possibly the nicest
sweet potato fries I've ever had.
So it's really good.

It's really tasty and interesting.

Lots of new flavours.

I had a Cuban sandwich,
and it's messy, but
it's really, really delicious.

Wow, what an atmosphere!
I know, I know. This is full!

What can I get for you, Fred?
I must try your Cubanos.

Thank you very much.
Perfect. Thank you.

We've got one sea bass, one Cubano,
sweet potato fries,

some croquetas and empanadas,
please.

Chasing our tail a little bit,
but it's soft launch,

so that's how we thought
it would be.

OK, check on. We've got Cubano,
one sea bass, one fries.

Is table two ready to go?

One Cubano on each one,
sea bass on each one,

sweet potato fries on each one,
croquetas on each.

And then we have...cha-cha-cha.

Do you know how long my food
is going to be, please?

Yeah, it won't be too much longer.
Fred's next up, isn't he, Oli?

Yeah, I'd say two minutes.
Two minutes. Thank you very much.
Thank you. Cheers. Thank you.

I love the atmosphere
of the restaurant.

The thing that worries me
is that the service is slow.

The food takes a long time
to come out of the kitchen.

I've ordered the Cubano
and I still haven't got it.

This Cubano will be 30 seconds.

At last!

The food is absolutely delicious
at Finca.

Very good.

The thing is,
it took at least 15 minutes

for me to get my Cubano, which is
basically a ham and cheese sandwich,

and I really don't understand
how this can be possible.

They've got so many staff in there.

Their staff ratio
is just as high as the Ritz.

How are they going to do that
in the high street?

Everything all together, yeah?

OK, perfect.

At Wholesome Junkies,
the half-price offer

is also drawing in the customers.

The chips we can use for that
end one cos they're gluten-free.

I'm a bit just sort of
in shock, I think.

Everyone's coming in and
they're ordering one of everything,

so, yeah, two covers and ten orders!

And Chelsea's got a problem
just ten minutes into service.

You have to go?

Anna, who's in charge of starters,
has to leave.

Her boyfriend's
been rushed to hospital...

No, it's fine. Don't worry.
Go. Go, go, go.

..so Faye will have
to take her place.

Mate, I feel like I can do this.

Yeah, you're on the pass.
You need some Parmesan on the side.

Chelsea's unlucky.
One of the chefs had to go home.

I'm afraid this is the reality
of the restaurant business.

You never know
what's going to happen.

This is a real test for Chelsea.
How well can she cope with trouble?

Oh, shit. The fryers are off.

What just happened? One minute.

The fryers are off.

Erm, yeah, I'm fine.

Have we got a sprouts
and a fries, mate?

Sprouts are in. Fries -
just waiting for the electricity.

You are booked in
for what time? Now.

We are running a little bit behind.

Hi there, guys.
We are running a little bit behind.

Yeah. Mate, don't cry.
No, I'm not. No. Don't.

Despite the wait, the meat-free food
is a hit when it reaches the tables.

It is so, so tasty.

You're not thinking that
you're eating vegan food.
It's just so nice.

You'd never think this was
vegetarian or vegan. Never. No.

You'd think there was
actually meat in it.

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

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

So, how many more people
have you got? It's five tables.

Five tables?!

Chelsea, I'm sorry to trouble you.

I'm sure you've seen - there's a big
backlog of customers at the door.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.

What are you going to do about it?
I'm just sort of explaining
to everybody coming in

that we've had a little bit
of trouble in the kitchen.

Just chat with them, see if
they're OK to wait a little bit.

I'll leave it with you.

Right now in Wholesome Junkies
it's mayhem.

Customers are coming in,
people don't get served,

the food doesn't get out
of the kitchen.

In restaurant terms,
this is called going down,

and Chelsea has gone down.

There's a few things
that she could do.

She could, for example,
offer takeaway

to the people who are waiting.

She could reduce her menu.
She could stop serving dessert.

What I want to know is
if she's going to take any actions.

Everyone who's finished, say,
"I'm really sorry, guys.

"We need the tables back."
I'll get you your bill.

Sorry. But was the food OK, though?

If it's more than two hours,
just be really polite,

say we've got a queue.

Slowly but surely,

Chelsea's plan to turn the tables
starts to work.

Thank you so much for waiting.

It wouldn't be me and Chelsea,
I don't think,

if, like, it went smooth sailing.

SHE LAUGHS

But hopefully
everyone's had a nice time.

It's the morning after
the night before.

Wholesome Junkies and Finca are
recovering after a bruising service,

but there is no time to relax.

In just about three hours' time,

the people who could change
their life are coming to lunch.

Morning, guys.
So, are you ready for today?

Just getting set now, yeah.

You've got four of the biggest
investors coming for lunch today.

It's not about getting one offer.

What you need to start
is a bidding war. Yeah?

And you can go for the best offer.

I don't think we've really
thought of that, have we?

My heart's beating. Mine's just
started beating! I can feel mine.

Good luck. Cheers. See you later.
Thanks a lot. Catch you later.

Some pressure now, that, isn't it?

THEY LAUGH

Get them pitching to us.
Imagine that! Ha!

Over the next two days,
the investors will test

the restaurants' business plans
and service,

but today's private lunch
is all about one thing - the food.

First to arrive,
two of the main partners

of investment group Imbiba,
Darrel Connell and Simon Wheeler.

They've invested over £50 million
in hand-picked partners.

The biggest part of any
investment decision for us at Imbiba

is the quality of the team

that we are backing
to execute on the business plan.

The Finca concept
and the Finca brand -

there's something special there.

The question is whether
that can translate

into a real business
that can be on the high street.

Joining them, Lydia Forte
of luxury hotel group Rocco Forte.

It's her job to develop
new bar and restaurant ideas

for the five-star business.

Realistically,
you could easily spend

up to half a million doing a site
and launching it.

If the quality isn't there,

it's going to be
really difficult to commit

the funds that we need
to commit to it.

Next, Tim Gee of property developer
Allied London.

Their inner-city developments cost
hundreds of millions of pounds.

You can't just build
boring boxes any more

if you want to be
a successful property developer.

You've got to actually put
the heart and soul into it.

As important as any part of any
property development, any district,

is making sure that you give people

places they want to go
and eat and drink.

And finally, Jeremy Roberts,
CEO of Living Ventures.

His string of businesses
features cocktail bars

as well as restaurants.

The bar element's always important

because it adds
a certain level of excitement.

It gives you another
string to the bow.

If people are coming for a meal,
they're coming for a meal.

If they come for a few drinks first
or a few drinks after,

then you've got a real wide range
of opportunity to increase revenue.

It's always great to see a business
that's got an equal focus.

I love the idea of Finca -
that it's cocktails and food

to create
a really lively atmosphere,

attracting a younger audience.

Great ideas come from great
entrepreneurs across the country.

Finca look like they've captured
something very special,

and I really can't wait
to see if the product lives up

to the quality of the proposition.

Hi. Hello. How are you doing?
Hello. I'm Lydia. I'm Joe.

Got you this nice big table here.

And we've got the food menus here.

A couple of drinks menus here
for you guys. Thank you.

I'll let you guys have a look
and I'll be back to get your drinks.
Cheers. Thank you.

So, I was hoping that there was
going to be cocktails on here.

So was I. I was thinking
exactly the same thing.

Right, guys,
can I get some drinks orders?

Not having cocktails today?
Afraid not today, no. No.

Um...

Just...just wanted to get...

Well, it was a lot to take on.

But it is part of the final concept?
It's a huge part. It's a huge part.

I think, on the food side...
Yeah, we kind of want
to try everything, really.

Do you want to go
for one of everything, yeah?

I like their T-shirts.

Yeah, I think the image,
just generally speaking,
is very, very good.

This feels...feels real at the
moment, yeah.

Just want to get everything right.

On Finca's menu today,
their signature Cubano -

Cuban fried chicken
with pickled watermelon

and spring onion croquetas.

So, guys, we've got the croquetas.

For a new food concept,
people need to be blown away.

Mediocrity is not good enough.

In Wholesome Junkies,
Chelsea's perfecting her dishes.

No, that's great, guys.
Let's not worry about it. Yeah, OK.

And she's hoping today might be
the next step in her dream

to be her own boss.

I was an only child
up until about sort of 15,

and then I've got a couple
of half-brothers and sisters now.

I've been very independent
from a young age,

but I've never been content
with working for somebody else.

I've always wanted
to do my own thing.

And then I realised, "I'll do
what I love, and that's cooking,

"and also be really creative.

"And if I could combine
the two together,

"then I'm going to be onto a winner
because that's me!"

You can do it, OK? Yeah. Right.

We're going to smash it,
right? Yeah.

Chelsea's one shot at investment
rides on Chris Miller.

He runs the White Rabbit
investment vehicle.

This multimillion-pound fund
has backed

four new ideas in the last year.

Having the best quality product

does not mean you're going to make
the most successful business.

In fact, the ability
for the management team

and the founder
to actually scale that business

is almost as important as the food.

There are many places that
I absolutely love for the quality,

but the management team
just hasn't been able

to execute a roll-out plan,
so backing the right person

is fundamental to
an investment decision.

Hello. Hello! Hi. You OK? Chris.
Nice to meet you, Chris.

I'm Chelsea. Nice to meet you.
I've got a very soggy hand!
That's all right.

I took my glove off, as well.
Don't worry. How are you?

A little bit nervous,
but good nerves, though. Good.

I'll give you a little tour
to show you around. Yes, please.

So, yeah, this is me. This is you.

This is me, if I could, like,
put myself in art form. Yeah.

I mean, I'm already halfway there
with the hair and the flowers.

And the ears.

It's like a permanent addition
to my everyday attire. OK.

And then I made little things
like this, as well,

which I just absolutely love.

Chelsea's chosen to serve Chris
three starters -

mac and cheese balls
with a cashew nut sauce,

her fried sprouts,
and then breaded mushrooms.

I'm so excited for the concept.

I don't think she should be looking
at the vegan/vegetarian market.

I think her competitors
should be McDonald's

or Byron or GBK,
but the food has got to be great.

I had a taste of everything.
So, the crispy mushrooms...

Yeah. ..is a brilliant dish.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.

That is phenomenal and...
We're really happy with that.

..I could see that doing very well.

The sprouts - there's definitely
something in there.

Yeah, yeah.
The mac and cheese ball...

Isn't your preference.
Bit too stodgy for me. Yeah, yeah.

So, let's get some mains
on the go for you. Yes.

For mains,
Chelsea's serving her signature

battered cauliflower burger.

So, this is the star dish?

Her hero dish is her burger,
and, in reality,

if you put a burger onto any menu,

that will be
the biggest-selling item.

So, if that first burger is great,

it'll be a pretty quick yes from me.

Enjoy. Thank you.

In Finca, the investors
have a verdict.

That's excellent, isn't it?

They've thought about, like,
all the component parts.

The bread's right,
the pickles are right,

the meat's good quality.

It's absolutely delicious.
It's really, really good.

What they've come up with
is really, really interesting

and really good and tasty,
but I just wonder if...

Is it Cuban?

Cos, to me,
this isn't obviously Cuban.

This isn't the kind of...

This is a different thing.
Inspired, as they say.

Maybe this is the best way
for Cuban food to be.

Don't tell a Cuban,
but, yeah, maybe!

Joe, you do all the marketing side
and the branding and everything.

And what are your, like, main roles?

Chef role. We played a part of,
you know, creating the food.

So, when you open
your first restaurant

and you've got a general manager,

who would they report to?
Who's looking after...?

We're sort of ready to take on
them roles ourselves, if need be.

You can tell that
they enjoy working together

and that they've come up
with a great idea and
they believe in themselves.

The Cubano sandwich -
certainly very tasty,

but I think the surprise for me
were some of the peripheral dishes,

which I wouldn't have expected
to be as good as they were,

which is a really good sign.
I think it needs more drinks.

For whatever reason,
they only had beer,

but it will actually do
really well with cocktails.

And certainly if I was to invest,
I could help them with that.

The food, from a consumer
proposition, is strong enough.

It's definitely got the scalability,
it's got the dynamism about it.

As a team, they clearly
get on with each other,

they enjoy each other's company,

but it's just not clear who's going
to be in charge of operations.

Who's the real leader?

Normally, when I look at
doing a concept,

I really do want it to be authentic,

I want it to mean that it has
a history and, you know,

the chef has an understanding
of the culture.

So, I'm just a little bit worried
that this is actually

a Cuban sandwich

and some Caribbean and some
Latin American dishes thrown in.

The crunch to this is better than
most fried chicken that I've had.

It falls apart quite...
And very tasty. Yeah, great dish.

I've just realised
I've probably given you everything
fried on the menu.

I should have given you
something else. I think that my...

So far, some really
exceptional parts of it.

Yeah, yeah.
It's about balancing it out a bit.

It feels quite heavy.

By virtue of it being vegan,

I think having a couple of dishes

which do feel
a little bit healthier... Yeah.

I think she's great. She's got
a hell of a lot of character.

There were a couple
of exceptional dishes in there.

The fried mushroom was brilliant.

There's one thing -

vegan food already has
quite a stigma of

the kind of hippie...
hippie lifestyle around it.

I'm not sure her tie-dye uniforms
really help that,

but I think there could be
a very interesting

lifestyle brand in there.

Look, I think you've got
a lot of potential,

so, yeah... Thank you.
Thanks very much for lunch.

I think she's quite happily doing
a nice, local, vegan restaurant...

Amazing. Thank you so much, Chris.

..but it should be going
up against a McDonald's

as a choice once or twice a week

and we just need to help it
a bit with that.

I don't know.
That was really positive.

How can you not think that
that was positive?

Ah! Mint!

SHE SQUEALS

THEY LAUGH

Tomorrow lunchtime
the pressure continues.

The investors will get to see
how well the restaurants cope

when they're full
of paying customers.

But today isn't over.

Chelsea and the Finca team
still have private meetings

with the investors...
How are you, guys?

..to talk business
later this evening.

You have four
business-plan meetings.

You've got to perform
in each and every one of them. Yeah.

We need to get in that zone now,
don't we,

and get our heads back
into our business plans?

We've got the figures
where we think they should be

and we've got the concept
where we think we should be.

Who's going to do most of
the talking? That'll be Joe.

All three of us
will be chipping in and...

It's going to be like going
12 rounds with Anthony Joshua, no?

THEY LAUGH

I wish you all the best.

Really proud of you
and really excited for you.

I can't wait to see what happens.
See you later. Take care. Bye-bye.

5.30. Chelsea's meeting is first.

Right, I'm ready. Let's go.

Chris has one hour to grill her
on every aspect of her operation

and to see if they can make
an all-important connection.

In this business,
50% of what you're backing

is the food.

Non-sweaty hand now. Right.

THEY LAUGH

And about 50% of it is the person.

From what I saw today,
and how do I put this?

Erm... Be nice.

You're nicely crazy,

but my fear is the stigma
of vegan/vegetarian restaurants.

Yeah. There's the sort of hippie,
lentils... Yeah.

And would you be open to, I guess,
making it more accessible

to people who aren't vegan
or vegetarians already?

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
So, branding is one thing.

On the menu, it's a bit rough
around the edges at the moment.

Yeah. It can't all be fried.
There's got to be a slightly more...

A few more levels on the menu.

During the meeting, the investors
can choose to spell out the offer

they'll make if - and only if -
they decide to invest.

Should tomorrow impress,

the offer would be closer to
spending time on the branding...

Yeah. ..getting in
with my development chefs

to actually help you structure
that menu to do it en masse,

with the ultimate goal of putting it
into a stand-alone site... Yeah.

..that will be way more than
the money that you've asked for.

It'll be closer to...£400,000.

There's a lot of work to be done,
but I do think there could be

something quite interesting
in this...

OK. ..if it's packaged right.

Interesting. Without tie-dye.

SHE LAUGHS

She's a bit rough round the edges.

The business acumen
needs a bit of work,

but it's got potential to turn into
something...into something big.

He's just said that it's going
to need about 400,000 investment,

which is just, like,
next-level crazy.

It's making tomorrow, like,
a hell of a lot scarier

because it needs
to be shipshape, perfect.

Now it's Finca's turn.

As all four investors see Finca
as a serious business opportunity,

they'll each have their own hour
alone with Oli, Joe and Michael.

The boys are asking
for a £150,000 investment.

My biggest concern, personally,
is the authenticity of the concept.

It isn't authentic Cuban street food
cos we're not Cuban.

We were inspired,
weren't we, ultimately?

We were inspired by the place,
you know... But...

We were inspired by the food.

But you've been to Cuba once
ten years ago.

You guys haven't.
None of you are Cuban.

Perhaps, you know, addressing that

once we get more of a full-time...

..well, not a full-time operation,

but a bigger operation.

Or even if it's you guys
going to Cuba. Yeah.

When I do something
in one of our hotels,

I always want it to be the best
possible version of that cuisine,

so it's hard for me
to sell a concept

which is Cuban inspired
but there's no real story behind it.

The problem is the authenticity
of the Cuban-inspired concept.

If I am going to be totally honest,

after today, I think that
you're going to have a great future,

but I think maybe
it's not the best thing for us.

OK, yeah, that's fair enough.

Going into the meeting with them,

I wanted to give them the chance
to tell me

that there was a little bit
more depth to the Cuban inspiration

and it just... It was clear
that there really wasn't

and I think that was the moment
when I thought,

"Better let them move on."

It was a major blow. Like, you know,

we were going in there
being really positive

and then it's a bit of a, like,

come-back-down-to-earth
and reality check.

Lydia Forte has pulled out.

The other investors
have strong views, too.

First thing I'd like to say is,
you know,

food-wise,
I thought it was really good.

What I was disappointed about was
it kind of just feels to me

like it was crying out
for cocktails.

There was a reason behind deciding
to leave them off the menu today,

mainly due to the fact that we...

It's not an area that
we're directly experienced in.

In terms of profitability,
yeah, bars are more profitable

because you don't need as many
people to deliver the product.

A plate of food needs chefs,
it needs waiters.

A bar really only needs a bartender.
Simple economics.

To me, the most directly comparable
brand in the market is Turtle Bay.

They've got a huge bar area

and it's full of students spending
boatloads of money on cocktails.

Yeah, we probably
should've gone bigger

on that side of the business plan
to get that across.

It's got to be really important,
up front and centre, in your brand.

Yeah.

So, who's the boss?

Erm, I guess we all take control
of our different areas.

It might sound a bit of a...
Cop-out?

When you're leading a business,
you need someone to lead it,

and at some point in time,

you'll have to decide

who that person is. Yeah.

Cos it can't be all three of you.

So, you're obviously committing
a lot of your time,

but what are you planning to invest
in that first permanent unit?

We're willing to look at raising
finance individually, aren't we,

if we need to?

We've spoken about this, you know,
before this process started, like...

Could that be, you know,
something that might come up?

I think, from our perspective, once
you've got confidence in the people,

the next level of reassurance
we expect to see

is actually you putting your
money where your mouth is. Yeah.

At the end of their session,

it's the investors' turn
to lay out their potential offers.

The flaw in the plan at the minute

for the first project
is your budget.

It's too small to hit the potential
to include the drinks.

It's probably two and a half
to three times...

Right. ..lower than it needs to be.

In their business plan,
they're asking for 150,000.

What it needs, based on the evidence
I've had so far...

It probably needs
around half a million.

We would offer a restaurant,

a space for you to open
your restaurant within our estate.

We would assist, obviously,

with the fit-out and build
and initial overheads.

That's how we would like to invest.

Tomorrow's service
is incredibly important.

Tomorrow illustrates their ability
to run a restaurant,

so we need to see it well managed.

It's key. It's key.

It's make or break seeing them
in that environment tomorrow.

And finally,
Imbiba's vision for Finca.

In the event that we did decide
to make an investment,

it would be larger
than what is in here.

Somewhere in the region
of 250,000-300,000.

I think the only thing to add
to that is this is a case of,

right, we're really getting behind
you with the full might of Imbiba

and trying to grow this
and make it a national brand.

We do not see this
as a one-restaurant business.

It's very, very important, tomorrow.

The number one thing
I'll be looking at -

how are the customers reacting?

How are the guys reacting
to a busy restaurant?

It's been a long couple of days,
hasn't it? And that is just madness.

Potentially three offers
coming in tomorrow.

We've got another day to go.
We've got to impress them tomorrow.

No, it is good. It is. Yeah.

It's the final day
for Wholesome Junkies and Finca.

They are now getting ready
for their last service

in a fully booked restaurant.

The investors will be watching
their every move.

There are nearly 700 restaurants
in Manchester.

Today, two more are open for lunch.

Today's back down to reality,
back to work, and, you know,

we've got to impress
these people again.

Two nights ago,
the Cubanos slowed down service,

so Michael's getting
everything prepped and ready.

Essentially, the biggest meal
that we've ever had to cook.

We'd be over the moon
if we got this investment.

How are you? Hi, Fred!
You OK, Chelsea?

I'm good. Hi, guys.
How are you? Yeah, OK.

How did it go with Chris yesterday?

He said some good points yesterday
that I took on board.

One thing was the tie-dye -
lose the tie-dye. Yeah?

He said it's got a bad stigma,
it's too hippie,

so I went straight out...

I've bought all new T-shirts.

We're going to change the restaurant
slightly, just strip it back.

Yeah, I agree with that. A bit more
casual dining. Simple. Simple.

And also he said that
he could probably do with

a bit more variety on the menu,

maybe a little less
fried food options.

So, last night I went out
and we've got three new specials on

and a dessert for him
that are all non-fried,

just to show him what we can do.

A bit of versatility. Very good.
A bit of on-the-spot thinking. Wow.

But you know that everything
is down to that lunch today?

Everything. You've got three hours
to prove to him what you can do.

Yeah, we're on it. Good luck.
Thank you. Good luck.

Good luck, guys!
Thank you. Bye! See you later.

Let's do this, Team Junkies!

CHEERING

12.30 - lunchtime...

Hello. Is it Victoria? Yes, it is.
Yeah? Good stuff. Come with me.

..and Finca is open.

Cubano, CFC,
empanadas and croquetas.

I'm in the zone. I'm in the zone.

The investors will expect to see
a front-of-house operation

as convincing as the food.

Jeremy Roberts is first in.

Hello, Jeremy.
How's it going? You OK?

The conclusion
that I came to last night

was essentially that the investment
that the guys are looking for

is not what it's going to take
to get a first restaurant going,

so therefore
the risk profile goes up.

Next, Imbiba.

Third partner Fraser Bradshaw
has joined them.

The full board needs to be together
to agree a major deal.

Yeah, we're still good, thank you.

Yesterday, we had a very good day,
the guys really delivered,

but it was
a small dining environment.

Today, busy, bustling restaurant.
It's all to play for.

And finally,
Allied London's Tim Gee.

Veg Cubano, no pickle.

One sea bass.
One sweet potato fries.

Hello. How are we?
Are you waiting to be seated?

Yes, I am. Fantastic. Very sorry.
What's your name? Tim.

Drinks menu? Yeah.
I'll probably go with a Diet Coke.

And can I get some tap water,
as well?

Tap water, as well?
No problem. Thank you.

And the menu's just there for you.
Yeah, thanks.

Chris Miller's booked in
at Wholesome Junkies.

Hello, Chris.

It's Chelsea's
last chance to impress.

I hope you've noticed we've kind of
stripped everything back

to sort of how it would be, and
it looks so much better, as well.

Yeah. So, I'll send
the dishes over to you.

Thanks very much. No problem.

The colourful floral tablecloths
have disappeared,

and the tie-dye T-shirts
have also gone,

so she's definitely taken
a few things on board.

When we met yesterday,
she was very excitable, a bit silly.

In the kitchen, she's clearly
actually running the ship.

I've got your two cheesy balls in.
You've got two sprouts there.

You've got one kung pao here,
one more kung pao on the way.

I wasn't expecting her
to be as commanding in the kitchen

as she clearly is.

Chelsea's lined Chris up
with three dishes,

including her new healthy specials.

So, this is a Mexican
chipotle-spiced jackfruit.

So, this is your grilled
tandoori cauliflower.

Yeah, dig in, see what you think.
Thank you very much.

Yesterday, a lot of it was fried,

so it's nice to see a bit of
a difference from big burgers.

So, the jackfruit salad
was a lot fresher,

so that was really nice.

The same thing with
the tandoori cauliflower wings.

The third dish - cheesy bites.

So, it's a lump of vegan cheese
with bacon Frazzles on it.

That's a disaster.

Over at Finca,
the investors' orders have arrived.

Right, nice presentation.
Instagram-friendly.

Thumping big eat.

Plenty of clean plates.

I like the Cubano, boys.
What's it like behind there? OK?

Yeah, it's good. Yeah, it's calm.
The kitchen's always calm.

It feels really calm.

Very consistent with yesterday,

so the quality was
still extremely high.

It's good. I'm impressed.

Halfway through service,

Jeremy Roberts moves in
for a closer look...

I fancied a change of scenery.

Have we got a Cubano coming
to table one and two, as well?

..and there's confusion
over an order.

We're missing a Cubano.
We're missing one? Oli?

I've got one on.
I've got one on the go right now.

Yeah. Do you need it now, yeah?

Do we need an extra Cubano here?

No. Was that all right? Yeah.
That was quite interesting,

seeing how it translates from
the street food to a restaurant,

and I can see
quite a big gap, really.

There's no real front-of-house
experience in the team,

and that's really showing,

and the concerns are forming
slightly in my mind.

See you later. Bye-bye.

Thanks, Tim. Thanks.

It was good. You know,
there were a few challenges,

but that's to be expected.

There are a few
other people involved

in the decision-making process

who are waiting for my feedback
and we'll take it from there.

Cheers, guys. It was great.

There's lots that we like.
There's lots that needs to be done.

It's what they need
to do now going forward.

So, to go from a pop-up format,

it's very different
to actually running a business

and then running a business
that scales and that rolls out.

I think we need to go and have
a long conversation about that,

just to see how we want
to play it going forward.

It's been a long three days,
hasn't it? But, hopefully,
we'll have some good news.

Lunch is over.

Thanks for lunch again.
Good to see you, Chris. Thank you.

Now the pressure
is on the investors.

See you.

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

I think that went well.
I've looked at 300 restaurants

in the last year and a half
and only invested in four of them.

The pressure now is for me
to have a think about

where I see her business
in the next three, five years' time.

And Imbiba also have
a difficult decision to make -

whether Finca is worth backing
to the tune of £400,000.

They're a really, really nice team

and I think they have grown
in character

and in confidence
over the last 48 hours.

How it gets from where it is now
into a restaurant and a roll-out,

I think there's a lot of
missing links that need support.

All of that adds up
to a lot of investment of time.

Do you feel they're in a position

where we feel we could move
towards an investment?

Do you feel they are...?

Could they roll out
to six, seven, eight,

nine sites across the country
over the next four or five years?

That is a big question.

How are you? Hi, Fred.
Aw, you've got a nice smile.

I'm nervous. Are you? Yeah.

Well, look,
Chris now has a deadline.

OK. He has one hour
to make you an offer.

Wow, OK. If he comes back,
he will make you an offer.

If he doesn't, then the game is off.

This is going to be
the worst hour of my life!

Chelsea came here
looking for £95,000.

If Chris Miller doesn't return
with an offer of investment by 6.30,

she'll walk away with nothing.

The suspense is killing me.

How do you feel?

I just want it to be over!

It's... It's...

..horrible waiting.

And it's not about
the hard work only.

It's about the opinion of somebody
and whether he believes...

The business.

Hello. Chris! You're nearly late.

Sorry! Running a bit behind.

How are you? I'm good.
How are you? I'm very well.

How are you? Good.

Don't get too excited...
No, I'm not.

..before you hear
what I have to say. Mm-hm.

So, can I ask you
to give us your offer?

Right now,
I don't think you are ready

to open a 50-seat restaurant. OK.

So, actually, what I would like
to offer you is support.

I have some extremely talented
development chefs.

I would like them to work with you.

I want you to bring
the creativity to it. Yeah.

But have them support you
in turning it into

a more complete and a more...
Polished.

..balanced menu. Yeah, yeah.

At the same time,
I have a branding agency.

We can turn it into a brand

that is a bit more accessible
to people. Yeah.

So, that's really the offer.
If you're happy,

then I'd like to spend some time
working together with you

and see where it goes.
I'd love to. Thank you so much.

You're very welcome.

I am super happy.
Super, super happy.

It's so nice to have somebody
give me the help

and the knowledge that
I really, really, really need.

There's no value on that.
It's just I'm...

I'm really, really happy with it.

Is it vegan? It is not vegan.

Oh, no! It is the full-fat.

Just a few fish guts in there.
Lovely!

That's what's in wine
that makes it non-vegan.

There's a lot to learn from my side.

I think she's got
a lot of potential.

There's a lot of raw talent there
that needs to be worked on.

Hopefully,
we'll end up with something

that we can turn into a really great
project for the future.

Cheers. Thank you. Well done.

Well done, Chelsea.
Thank you so much.

Now it's Finca's turn.
They came here looking for £150,000.

The deadline is eight o'clock.

Will one or more investors
walk through the door?

This is it.
It could ultimately decide

what we do for the rest
of our lives. Mm-hm.

It's not easy, this.

It feels...

We just don't know, do we? You know?

Getting closer.

Hello. Here you are. Hi.
Hi. How are you? Hi, Fred.

You OK? I'm very, very well.
How's it going? Hi, Joe.

Team, we still have
about ten minutes.

We have to wait until
the other investors come,

if they do come.
So, we have ten minutes.

Good evening. How are you?
You OK? Good to see you.

Hello, Jeremy. Good to see you.

We're still waiting
for one more investor.

The clock is still ticking.

If we were backing Finca
just to open one single restaurant

in Liverpool or Manchester,
I'd back them to be a success,

but can they run six, seven,
eight, nine sites across the UK

on a three- or four-year view?
Don't know.

We agonised long and hard over it

and we just couldn't get over
that final question.

Have they got what it takes in
their experience bucket to do that?

We just couldn't get there.

Finca will have to choose
between two investors,

but first they have to hear
what's on the table.

Tim, you were the first to come in.

Our offer is to set you up
in a restaurant, fully kitted out.

It will be Finca branded

and you will have that
for a year at our cost.

Our intention would be
to support you with the business,

to see what could happen next,

and then we could see perhaps
further locations off that.

Thank you, Tim. Jeremy, your turn.

What I saw today really consolidated
my thoughts on the business -

that it does need to be something
a little bit more complete.

What I am keen to put on the table

is a commitment to £150,000

in order to continue
your development

so that you are in a position
to roll it forward.

On the table, two offers.

From Allied London,
a ready-made restaurant premises

with costs covered for one year,
with potential for further growth.

Well, I think you maybe have
to think about it

for a couple of moments.

And from Jeremy Roberts,
an initial investment of £150,000

to develop the Finca concept
and open their first restaurant.

Yeah, yeah. Good stuff.

So, have you made a decision?

We have. You have? Yeah, yeah.

Let's hear it.
So, thank you for coming down

and this is what we came here for.

Jeremy, I think we'd be a great fit

and we'd like to take you up
on your offer. That's fantastic.

Cheers. Thank you.
Well done, guys. Well done, guys.

We want someone like Jeremy
that believes in Finca

as a concept and a brand.

Yeah, enormously...

It's not going to sink in, is it?

Do you know, it was a pleasure.

Congratulations to Jeremy and Finca.

I hate losing,
I'll be perfectly honest,

but I wish them all the best.

Yeah, I'm delighted.

I see a real potential
in these guys.

I see a huge amount of passion.
And I think those two things,

as I said right at the start,
they're the most important things.

Cheers. Well done! Cheers.

I hope to make some money out of it,
bottom line.

That's what it's all about.
Cheers. Cheers. Cheers. Good luck.

We're blown away.
We're blown away right now. Yeah.

We're ready. Now the journey starts.

I can't get rid of
this stupid grin on my face!

THEY LAUGH

Got a difficult table over there.

I heard that your food
didn't go well,

so apologies on the house.

For you, Ron, especially being
a chef and a very confident chef,

I felt you were a little arrogant.

I need two fettuccine
straight in, Chef.

We've got no more cream left.
What's happened?

We've run out of white wine cream.

SHE SIGHS