Fred is star in food firm cash fight
Million Pound Menu
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IF A picture is worth 1,000 words, then the moment Fred Sirieix turned up on Celebrity Juice a few months ago was worthy of a novel. Gino D’acampo was far from happy to see he had been teamed with the First Dates star for a live edition of the ITV2 show in March. That “awkward moment” was actually just the old mates sparring for the cameras, like they did with Gordon Ramsay for Gordon, Gino and Fred’s Great Christmas Roast – one of the highlights of the festive period last year.
There’s no sign of the other celeb chefs in the last of this series, which is good news for Fred as he gets to dominate the limelight while passing judgment on two more food brands whose owners are seeking investment.
One is Naked Dough. Operating as a pop-up in
London, it serves a vegan-friendly dough developed by pastry chef and co-founder Jen. They now want £250,000 to open their own shop.
The company, which was set up 12 months ago, traded as a pop-up at London’s Old Street station. Jen and Hannah gave up their jobs to launch the idea after Jen re-trained as a pastry chef and developed basic recipes for raw dough, including some vegan-friendly flavours.
These include Nak-ed Sheeran (salted caramel and honeycomb), and Nuttin’ Better (peanut butter, nibbled peanuts). The duo have valued their business at more than £2 million.
Looking for an investment of £250,000, the company has attracted a lot of interest. Three investors want to see it in action: Shruti Ajitsaria, who manages a portfolio of private investments, Jamie Barber, who has owned and operated many restaurant brands in the UK, and Chris Miller of White Rabbit Fund.
Cameras also focus on premium burger stall Black Bear Burger. It has allowed husband and wife Liz and Stew to leave their jobs and focus full-time on the business which is based at Boxpark, Shoreditch.
Now they want to take the next step, but they need investment if they are to open a proper outlet and get a slice of the £3.3billion burger market.
Fred will be meeting the teams and follows their pitches.
Given the amount of cooking shows on the box compared to 20 years ago, it’s safe to say that we as a nation take our food pretty seriously, whether demanding a wider choice for vegetarians and vegans, or wanting a burger on the high street that tastes better than something we can make at home. And while food is a large part of a business’s success story, customer service is crucial if a company is to thrive.
Fred believes that restaurant-owners should never leave a customer alone with their thoughts.
“This is why your customer journey should be there to establish trust every step of the way,” he explains. “Trust in business is the basis of loyalty, and this is why every single one of your touch points must inspire that trust.”
Hopefully both “first dates” with respective investors will lead to a happy ever after for Naked Dough and Black Bear Burger.