History
The BBC announced the production of The Restaurant in October 2006, with chef and restaurateur Raymond Blanc named as the star of the series. Blanc invested a six-figure sum of money into the programme, and was described as being "very excited" about the series. The first series began airing on 29 August 2007 and drew to a close on 17 October 2007. The series saw married couple Jeremy and Jane Hooper win the chance to set up their own restaurant, Eight at the Thatch, in the Oxfordshire town Thame, which opened in November 2007. After a period of maternity/paternity leave, Jeremy and Jane stepped down and left Eight at the Thatch, on 5 May, 2008 their brief tenure marked by reported rampant arguments and failure.
On 28 January 2008 the BBC confirmed the return of the programme for a second series, which began airing on 10 September 2008. It is reported in The Aylesbury Commuter newspaper (8/5/08) that two local restaurants, The Green Dragon in Haddenham and Le Bistro in Wendover are to feature in the next series, which commenced filming 21 May 2008. The Ben Johnson at Weston On The Green, near Oxford, also features in the next series. The final episode of the second series was screened on 29 October 2008, in which finalists Michele and Russell competed against James and Alasdair to provide a high class five-course meal to passengers on the Orient Express. The programme concluded as Raymond Blanc chose to start a new restaurant with winners Michele English and Russell Clement.
A third series of The Restaurant aired on BBC2 and BBC HD in 2009 and was won by JJ Goodman and James Hopkins. The victory was surprising to some as JJ had no kitchen experience, being instead a mixologist. The BBC defended the decision stating "the judges liked their ability to think on their feet, their work ethic and their concept." They beat runners up Christopher Hackett and Nathan Gooding in the final.
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