The Restaurant (UK TV Series)

The Restaurant
The title screen of The Restaurant
Genre	Reality television series
Starring	Raymond Blanc
Narrated by	Alex Jennings (2007) Barbara Flynn (2008)
Theme music composer	Dru Masters
Country of origin	United Kingdom
Original language(s)	English
No. of series	3
No. of episodes	30
Production
Running time	60 minute episodes
Release
Original network	BBC Two
Picture format	PAL
Original release	29 August 2007 (2007-08-29) – 17 December 2009 (2009-12-17)
External links
Website

The Restaurant was a British reality television series in which a group of couples competed for the chance to set up a restaurant financially backed and personally supported by French chef Raymond Blanc. The winning couple were given their own restaurant to run. For the winners of the first series the prize restaurant was in Oxfordshire, near to Blanc's own Le Manoir aux Quat' Saisons. For the second series the prize restaurant was in Marlow, Buckinghamshire.

The first series aired on BBC Two on 29 August 2007 and a second series aired on 10 September 2008. The first series also had its own spin-off, The Restaurant: You're Fried! (a play on The Apprentice: You're Fired!) which aired on BBC Three after the main programme. This did not return for either of the subsequent series. The third and final series was broadcast on 29 October 2009.

In the US, the show was retitled Last Restaurant Standing by BBC America. The first series aired in spring 2008, the second in spring 2009, and the third in winter 2010.

In July 2010 the BBC announced that the show has officially ended.

Nine couples with little or no restaurant experience competed in a series of challenges whilst running their own restaurants. Challenges were set by Raymond Blanc, a successful French chef who owns a number of restaurants in the UK, most notably Le Manoir aux Quat' Saisons. The couples lived together in a shared house during the eight-week series.