Fred Sirieix to front restaurant TV show Million Pound Menu

Fred Sirieix, general manager of Galvin at Windows in London, is to present a new BBC TV show in which budding restaurateurs will compete to open their own venue.

Million Pound Menu will see two different sets of restaurant hopefuls set out their ideas for an innovative new dining concept during each episode.

Each will be seeking to secure investment in their business and they will be given a trial period in a pre-existing restaurant space to see if they can make their vision work.

On the final day of service, they will find out if their food and business plans have been strong enough to win the investment they need to open their own restaurant.

Sirieix, who is now a fixture on TV screens thanks to his work on Channel 4's First Dates, as well as on Michel Roux's Service, which aired in 2011, said: "I am very excited and honoured to be joining the talented team of Million Pound Menu. The UK restaurant scene is booming with creativity and a quality never seen before. To play a part in discovering, nurturing and helping the next generation of restaurateurs is an opportunity like no other. I can't wait to get to work and for the series to start."

David Brindley, head of commissioning, popular factual and factual entertainment at the BBC said: ""On BBC Two, Million Pound Menu is a transformational new business format which gives some of the country's most talented would-be restaurateurs a once in a lifetime opportunity."

It is not yet clear when the show will air.

This much I know: Fred Sirieix >>

Waiters from the Cavendish and The Pig win National Waiters' Day Race >>

Galvin at Windows launches its own balcony-grown Champagne cuvée >>

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