Matt Gillan smashes crowdfunding target in just six days

Matt Gillan has smashed his £60,000 crowdfunding bid to transform an Edwardian pub in West Sussex in less than a week.

The chef had given himself a month to raise the money needed to transform the five-bedroom Chequers pub in Slaugham into a destination venue, but needed only six days.

The former chef/director of Red Roaster and Pike & Pine in Brighton tweeted: "Guys. I'm genuinely lost for words and feel a bit overwhelmed. I'd do a video but I might cry.

"The biggest thing is the speed at which you guys have made this happen. Less than a week!!!! High fives all round."

On his crowdfunding page Gillan had said: "Having been closed for two years, it is essentially a blank canvas. Not just from a decor point of view, but mostly a character view. It used to be a pub. Now it's a shell needing soul.

"There will be a shift from pub to a restaurant with rooms, but we want to retain the accessibility and informality of its former life, and make the space part of the community once again."

Gillan plans to offer a set lunch menu, à la carte menu and signature tasting menu in the restaurant with a small bar menu available in more casual areas. The restaurant will also have a 16-cover private dining room.

Sussex providers will contribute to the wine, beer and cider offers, with lists including products exclusive to the the venue.

The chef, who appeared in series eight and 10 of the BBC's Great British Menu, had previously held a Michelin star at the Pass restaurant in the South Lodge hotel in Lower Beeding, near Horsham.

His CV also includes stints at Restaurant Gordon Ramsay, London; the Vineyard at Stockcross, Berkshire; and Midsummer House in Cambridge.

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