Fred Sirieix's Million Pound Menu begins on BBC 2 tonight featuring Ruth Hansom

Million Pound Menu will launch on BBC 2 tonight and see Ruth Hansom and business partner Emily Lambert make their bid for investment.

Presented by Fred Sirieix, general manager of Galvin at Windows in London and maitre d' on Channel 4's First Dates, the programme has been described as Dragons' Den for the hospitality industry and will be screened at 9pm.

Each week, two sets of would-be patrons will battle it out to secure investment in their dining concept.

Each concept will be given a three-day trial in a 40-seat pop-up restaurant in Manchester to win over the public and the potential investors. They will be judged on their food, service, team-management, brand potential and business plans before discovering, at the end of the three days, if they have been successful.

In the opening episode 22-year-old Hansom, winner of Young Chef of the Year 2017, and 20-year-old Lambert, the Ritz's youngest ever female sommelier, will seek £600,000 in the aim of seeing their British fine-dining concept Epoch open its first restaurant.

The two investors Hansom and Lambert will be pitching to are Lydia Forte, of the Rocco Forte Hotel group, and chef, entrepreneur and owner of Benares restaurant in London's Mayfair, Atul Kochhar.

Also seeking investment will be Scottish street-food trader ShrimpWreck, founded by 27-year-old Ewen Hutchison, who hopes to secure £100,000 to set his concept on the way to becoming the next big casual dining brand.

Established in 2016 Shrimpwreck specialises in king prawn tempura buns, fish finger sandwiches, salt & Cajun squid and sweet potato fries.

Hutchinson will be pitching to David Page, chairman of restaurant investment fund The Fulham Shore and Scott Collins, co-founder of restaurant group MEATliquor.

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