A Yorkshire commercial kitchen specialist has completed the design and installation of a bespoke restaurant kitchen for a new prime-time cooking show from the BBC.
Huddersfield-based Greens Commercial Kitchens has provided the restaurant kitchen for BBC Two’s six-part reality series, ‘Million Pound Menu’, due to air next Thursday (17 May) and hosted by star of Channel 4’s ‘First Dates’, maître-d Fred Sirieix.
The project is the latest in a string of high-profile contracts for the firm, following the recent design and installation of a bespoke commercial kitchen for Michelin-starred television chef Simon Rogan’s ‘Roganic’ restaurant, which opened in Marylebone in early 2018.
Greens Commercial Kitchens founder and managing director, Richard Greenway, said:
“We have started to carve a strong reputation working with high-profile media names such as Simon Rogan, Sony, and most recently, the BBC.
“We were contacted by the Million Pound Menu’s production company, Electric Ray, following a recommendation. Their brief was for us to transform an empty and near-derelict trading unit in Manchester’s Spinningfields into a newly refurbished kitchen & restaurant facility that would be used to film the show.”
Each episode of the show will see two sets of restaurant hopefuls with ideas for new dining concepts given a trial in a specially built kitchen and restaurant space to demonstrate their vision, business acumen and food management expertise to a panel of potential investors.
On the final day of service, the contestants will find out if their food and business plans have been strong enough to secure an investment in their restaurant.
Mr Greenway added:
“We worked closely with the set designers and production teams on the design and installation of the kitchen to allow for good filming angles and workable floor space for the crew.
“We also had to match the specification of the existing kitchen in the ‘competing’ venue opposite to make it fair for the contestants going head-to-head in the kitchens. This meant that we custom manufactured almost everything in the kitchen and transformed the unit into a fully refurbished and operational facility in just two weeks to fit in with the production deadlines.”
The first episode of Million Pound Menu featuring the installation from Greens Kitchens will air on BBC Two on Thursday 17 May at 9pm.
