MasterChef finalist hits £25,000 crowdfunding target in just 48 hours

Chef praises kindness of his customers for supporting business started in lockdown

An Angus-born celebrity chef has spoken of the outstanding generosity of his customers and the public as a crowdfunder he launched to support a business started in lockdown hit its intended target of £25,000 in two days.

Dean Banks, who appeared on BBC’s MasterChef: The Professionals in 2018, unveiled the initiative on social media two days ago, and hit his target with donations from just 112 supporters.

He has now increased the amount he is seeking to £60,000, which he hopes to raise within 11 days.

The 32-year-old chef, who runs popular St Andrews eatery Haar Restaurant, launched fine-dining luxury lobster and crab delivery food box service Haar at Home in April and has since gone from sending out 50 boxes per week, to more than 500.

As a result he has been able to bring some of his staff back from furlough and re-employed them at his award-winning restaurant after being inundated with orders from across the UK. Supporters pledging financial support can pick from a range of rewards which start from £15 to £10,000.

These include getting their names included on the supporter wall in the new kitchen unit and on the box design, to full private use of Haar with a sevencourse tasting menu for 25.

He said: “I think just the support from everyone is unbelievable. We set targets and were hoping for around £2,500 to £3,000 in the first day, but it just took off and blew away all of my expectations.

“The £25k allows us to be able to buy some of the equipment we will need for the unit – second hand ovens and second hand tables. It was more of a budgeted target.

“But with the stretch target of £60k, we could buy a chilled van which then allows us to go to the harbours and buy the lobsters and crabs direct from the boats ourselves, and also lets us deliver in our local areas like Dundee, Perth and Fife. National delivery costs £15 but this would allow us to charge less to local customers which is great.”

Still looking to confirm if the unit for Haar at Home will be based in Dundee or Perth, Dean and his team are also gearing up to reopen his restaurant on July 31 and will also be opening a new high-end fish and chip restaurant called Haarbour in September which will employ 25 new staff.

We set targets and were hoping for around... £3,000 in the first day but it just took off. DEAN BANKS

Picture: Paul Smith. Dean Banks appeared on BBC’s MasterChef: The Professionals in 2018.