MasterChef: The Professionals finalist Sven-Hanson Britt to open restaurant
Sven-Hanson Britt, a former sous chef at the Ritz in London, and a former finalist on MasterChef: The Professionals, is to open a 45-cover restaurant in South Derbyshire.
Britt has applied to South Derbyshire District Council to convert unused buildings at Hardley Hill Farm, near Sutton-on-the-Hill, into a "farm-to-table" restaurant, which would employ up to 15 staff.
The chef made the final of the BBC TV show MasterChef: The Professionals in 2014, having started his career as an apprentice at the Ritz where he worked his way up to sous chef over a seven-year period.
The buildings on Hadley Hill Farm are not currently in use and are owned by the Trusley Estate.
If it gets the go-ahead, the restaurant will offer a daily-changing menu with food grown and produced as locally as possible, particularly from the Victorian walled garden on the property. It will only serve meat from its own rare breed Longhorn cattle, Tamworth pigs and Jacob sheep to ensure humane farming and animal husbandry, and the team have also planed 1,300 trees in the surrounding pastures.
Speaking to The Caterer, Britt said: "My intention is to repurpose the disused farm buildings and create what has always been my dream - a small, sustainable and rural restaurant, with a menu almost entirely composed of ingredients grown and reared by our team. The buildings date back many years and we will look to keep the original features of the farm in our landscaping and interiors. The renovation is inspired by traditional, rural architecture and design and I hope to work with many local craftspeople and businesses to achieve this.
"Although it is early days and there is a lot to do in the months ahead, I am excited to get to know the local community and cannot wait until the restaurant is up and running. We are due to start the renovation as soon as possible but are still looking for additional investment to take the project all the way."
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