Michelin-winning chef Heston Blumenthal to revamp Little Chef

Heston Blumenthal is to create a menu for a Little Chef restaurant as part of his million pound tie-up with Gordon Ramsay, Jamie Oliver and Channel 4.

If successful, the proprietor of the three-Michelin starred Fat Duck in Bray, Berkshire, could see his menu adopted by Little Chefs across the country.

Blumenthal officially joined Channel Four's line-up of chefs last month, in a deal first reported back in February on Kitchen Rat and believed to be worth £1m over two years.

The series, Big Chef, Little Chef, is part of Channel Four's spring/ summer season, and will follow in the vein of Hugh Fernley-Whittingstall's Chicken Run, with a series of three one-hour programmes.

Blumenthal and the Fat Duck made headlines last week after inaccurate reports that he had sold the acclaimed business to a relative.

Little Chef was rescued from administration last year when private equity group RCapital bought 196 of its 234 roadside restaurants.

It is believed that Little Chef was losing £3m a year at the time.

A revival of Little Chef by Jamie Oliver was mooted last year after his production company Fresh One had talks with the chain but no progress was made.

Heston Blumenthal >>
Gordon Ramsay >>
Jamie Oliver >>

Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall calls on industry to switch to free-range poultry >>

By Christopher Walton

E-mail your comments to Christopher Walton here.