Little Chef gains a big chef

The company went into administration last year but was rescued. The 400 restaurants were cut down to just 180 and plans were put in place to turn the business around. In his column for the Independent newspaper, Blumenthal explained how his new menu is not a copy of the Fat Duck and that he believes the brand which is so nostalgic should remain very British: "When I went into the kitchen for the first time, they didn't have any pots and pans, which was a surprise. Everything was out of packets. "Taking it away from that does mean that profit margins are reduced, but the key to this is to bring more people in, particularly for lunch and dinner, by giving better dishes while not losing the essence. "I have tried to use more British ingredients; for me it's about keeping the Britishness. There are still bangers and mash, a steak pie, and chicken and chips, but the chicken is spit-roasted and we've got herb patches, so staff can cut and cook fresh parsley." Favourite dishes have been revamped like The All New Olympic Breakfast - £6.95 and are joined by some new dishes including Hereford Steak and Abbott Ale Pie - £7.25, Braised Ox Cheeks £9.75 with desserts of Chocolate Truffle Slice £3.75 and Jubilee Pancakes £3.75. Families remain a key focus for Little Chef and Blumenthal was eager to encourage a children's menu where the dishes were a reflection of those served to the adults, encouraging families to eat a similar meal together. The new Children's menu comprises Organic British Hamburgers £3.45 and Scampi (from sustainable sources in Scottish Waters) £3.45, Children's breakfast £3.25 and Vanilla ice cream served in a cone topped with a chocolate flake and sprinkled with popping candy £2.00 (or £1.00 if ordered with a main course). Chief executive, Ian Pengler told how this is a real turning point for Little Chef: "For us, it is important to make the brand relevant for a new generation, and working with a chef as unique as Heston has been a fantastic experience and resulted in real learnings at Little Chef. Indeed the menu focuses on all the key things that sum up what Little Chef wants to be – British, quality, value-for-money and relevant for all audiences from families to business customers." The TV chef added that he hopes people will warm to the changes: "The feedback has been really good. There were a couple of comments on the first day, saying: "Oh that's not what I was expecting." I think people were thinking they'd get the Fat Duck menu for £5 or £10 a head – it's not the Fat Duck. "Hopefully the cafe's regulars won't say: "Oh my God, that's ridiculous, what have you done to my Little Chef?" The results of the trial project will be carefully reviewed and assessed at the end of February 2009 taking into consideration all customer responses to the concept.