Great British Menu's Danny Gill buys parents' pie shop

Great British Menu finalist Danny Gill has bought his parents' Lincoln gourmet pie shop and restaurant.

Browns Pie Shop on Steep Hill opened its doors in 1968 and serves pies alongside an à la carte menu. Gill's parents bought the restaurant in 2005 and Gill acquired it with a £50,000 loan from Lloyds Bank Commercial Banking.

Gill spent three years working alongside Daniel Clifford, starting at the two-Michelin-starred Midsummer House in Cambridge as sous chef and becoming head chef of Clifford's Flitch of Bacon pub in Little Dunmow, Essex. He was also head chef at Roussillon in London, and spent three years at Le Manoir aux Quat'Saisons in Great Milton, Oxford.

Gill said: "Browns Pie Shop is not only a successful business but has a lot of heritage, both locally and to my family. After spending years travelling around the country to develop my culinary skills, I wanted to return to the place that inspired me to follow a career as a professional chef in the first place."

Thomas Gawne, relationship manager for SME banking in the East Midlands at Lloyds Bank Commercial Banking, said: "For firms like Browns Pie Shop, it's important they have access to local professionals who understand the value they bring to tourist hot spots, such as Lincoln, to support the local economy."

"Danny has brought a new dimension to the restaurant and stirred a lot of excitement after being a finalist in the national competition. The bank is fully supportive of his decision to take a lead on ownership from his family."

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