'The first thing people will want to do is go and eat out'

Tanwen Dawn-Hiscox

Deputy Editor

Great British Menu 2019 finalist and former head chef at The Man Behind the Curtain Kray Treadwell is still going full steam ahead with plans to launch his inaugural restaurant, 670 grams.

Despite the ravaging impact Covid-19 has had (and continues to have) on the hospitality industry, Kray told the BBC that he is optimistic about the future and that the end of the current crisis could be a positive and celebratory time for restaurants up and down the country.

With plans to open the Birmingham restaurant in the early summer, in light of the current situation the chef has pushed the launch date back to August.

He said: "I've wanted this restaurant my whole life.

"I know it's not the best time that I could have opened but I genuinely don't think it's the worst either. I think coronavirus has scared a lot of people but I do think that the first thing people will want to do is go and eat out."

He added that his situation is better than most restaurants, in that he has no staff on the payroll.

"And also, because of the style of food that I'm doing, I'm not using many luxury ingredients so the cost of the price relates in that.

Socially distant dining

The chef said that with only six tables in the restaurant, each is "a good distance" away from the others, meaning that even with social distancing measures still in place, diners may be able to come and enjoy the food at 670 Grams.

Hopeful not only that the restaurant industry will survive the epidemic but that it will see some positive changes as a result, he said: "I think there's going to be less greed. And what I mean by that is the restaurants that are doing 150 covers a day, but really they should only be doing 90, to the point where the customer doesn't have a good experience.

"If everyone does less covers, everyone's restaurant theoretically should do better."

The chef shared his experience of taking part in Great British Menu last year, saying that he wouldn't have been afforded the opportunities he has if it hadn't been for the BBC programme - even though his dish didn't make it to the banquet.

"I hope that I can do it again and win," he said.

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