Raymond Blanc names the winners of ‘The Restaurant'

18 December 2009 by
Raymond Blanc names the winners of ‘The Restaurant'

Raymond Blanc has named JJ Goodman and James Hopkins as the winning couple in the third series of The Restaurant](http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00djpzy).

The duo, who ran the Summer House restaurant during the show, beat Christopher Hackett and Nathan Gooding to the title after the series' final challenge during which they served a banquet for Lord and Lady Arran and their guests at their stately home in Devonshire.

Blanc, this year's Catey lifetime achievement award winner, was joined on the show by Michelin-starred restaurateur David Moore and former Clapham House director Sarah Willingham, who will also invest in Goodman and Hopkins business.

He praised the winning pair, whose restaurant concept is food paired with cocktails, for their consistency.

"One of you has got something, something which kept you consistently in the competition," he said when announcing the winners.

"It is the idea which truly excites you. And even in the final, concept saved you."

Goodman and Hopkins said they were "over the moon".

They said: "To be opening a restaurant with Raymond Blanc is a dream come true and we hope we can live up to his expectations and those of industry experts Sarah and David. We hope it will be an incredible partnership that will stand the test of time."

The third series of The Restaurant began with nine couples competing for the chance to run their own restaurant, facing challenges from working in high street chains to organising a tea dance and holding a cookery masterclass in front of a live audience.

Read what viewers are saying about The Resturant on our blog Guide Girl >>

Raymond Blanc returns with TV show The Restaurant >>
Raymond Blanc to star in two new BBC series >>

By Kerstin KÁ¼hn

E-mail your comments to Kerstin KÁ¼hn here.

If you have something to say on this story or anything else join the debate at Table Talk - Caterer's new networking forum. Go to www.caterersearch.com/tabletalk

Caterersearch.com jobs
Looking for a new job? Find your next restaurant job here with Caterersearch.com jobs

[Blogs on Caterersearch.com](http://www.caterersearch.com/blogs) Catch up with more news and gossip on all Caterer's blogs
[Newsletters For the latest hospitality news, sign up for our e-mail newsletters.
The Caterer Breakfast Briefing Email

Start the working day with The Caterer’s free breakfast briefing email

Sign Up and manage your preferences below

Check mark icon
Thank you

You have successfully signed up for the Caterer Breakfast Briefing Email and will hear from us soon!

Jacobs Media is honoured to be the recipient of the 2020 Queen's Award for Enterprise.

The highest official awards for UK businesses since being established by royal warrant in 1965. Read more.

close

Ad Blocker detected

We have noticed you are using an adblocker and – although we support freedom of choice – we would like to ask you to enable ads on our site. They are an important revenue source which supports free access of our website's content, especially during the COVID-19 crisis.

trade tracker pixel tracking