Tell us about your new show, Future Food Stars.

Future Food Stars is about finding some of the most exciting, emerging food-and-drinks businesses that have been created in the UK. Especially on the back of the devastating two years with the pandemic, Future Food Stars will give someone the chance to focus and develop some exciting business ideas that have the potential to absolutely explode over the next 18 months.

What made you want to invest £150k of your own money?

I’ve spent the last two decades investing in talent and restaurants, it’s in my blood. To expand beyond restaurants and be in that food and drink lifestyle space, looking at what we've got in the competition, and how talented these individuals are, I'm equally as excited to invest in them as I would in any restaurant or hotel, anywhere in the country.

What attributes are you looking for in an investment partner?

The first big key to securing my investment is, how are they in business? How good is the idea? I need to invest in the person. And obviously, the idea is crucial, but it's all about that relationship. And I've always said there’s three key things in business: first of all, do you like each other; secondly, respect each other; and thirdly, does that business have scope? If those three boxes are ticked off, then it's the start of a successful relationship.

You put the contenders through their paces, how did you come up with the challenges in the show?

Putting the contenders through their paces was crucial for me. How do they react under pressure, in a difficult situation, a challenge outside their comfort zone? It’s no different to being in business, being up against it - and when the chips are down, then you dig deep. So, investing that amount of money in someone, they need to have the resilience, the vision, and the drive to pick themselves up when things aren't going incredibly well. These challenges were designed to tick all those boxes and to push them to get a sense of that commitment for me to feel confident to invest in them.

Why was it important for you to also include non-food related challenges in the show?

The challenges across Future Food Stars were not all food related. Some of the biggest food and drink ideas over the last five years - non-alcoholic cocktails, for instance - enlisting the expertise of the creator of Seedlip, and giving the contenders a challenge to come up with an amazing non-alcoholic brand. It's one of the fastest developing drink sectors on the planet, let alone in the country. So, it was really important to not become too foodie related, and focus on the business element and understand, have they got the acumen to understand the ethics of business, and can they see a decent profit on their return? Does their business work in such a busy sector?

Did you have a favourite challenge? If so, why?

I love all the challenges, they're designed to create pressure and push them in many different scenarios. I have to say I was particularly excited about the food app challenge, because that was a great insight to how customers vote with their eyes, and they download what they'd like to eat from the app. They look at the pictures, they look at the description. Just look at the app phenomenon and how big that businesses become a multi-billion-pound industry now, globally, whether it's Deliveroo, GrubHub, or UberEATS. It was fascinating to see the amount of demand for food to go.

In the very first challenge, one of the contenders mentions that jumping off the cliff is the scariest thing they have ever done. What’s the scariest thing you have ever done?

The scariest thing I've ever done was leaping out of a helicopter at 300 feet, in the depth of the Amazon jungle that was laden with crocodiles. Halfway through the descent, I was hoping these things were going to move and jump back into the water, but they stayed there till I was about 10 feet away. As soon as I unclipped and dropped down onto the sand, in the middle of Guyana on the northwest tip of the Amazon jungle, I think they got slightly spooked and dived back into the water.

So yeah, it was the kind of rappel that you couldn't stop halfway down or ask the helicopter to move on. Once you’ve committed, you’re doing it, no going back!

You film in some stunning locations across the UK, can you tell us a little more about them?

The UK has got such beauty when it comes to filming and it lends itself to such amazing photography. We open up the show in Newquay - that place has been my family's exciting little haven over the last 10 years since we fell in love with Cornwall a decade ago.

Filming out in the Lake District and doing the challenge designed for the first responders, the Mountain Rescue Team, was breathtaking, absolutely breathtaking. We also filmed down in Devon and Somerset's Cheddar Gorge, doing a challenge locating cheese in these amazing caves which was beautiful, really beautiful. And then of course, London. We're spoilt for choice when it comes to stunning architecture and locations in London. The power and energy of the city just helps drive the contestants to push even harder.

Can you tell us a little more about the experts you consulted in the show?

The experts were paramount across this competition because they really gave the contenders an insight. These experts were in their shoes five, six years ago - look at Ben Branson, the creator of Seedlip, that guy was developing these cocktails in the back of his mother's kitchen on their farm as early as 2014, and within five years became a huge, huge industry success. Again, Will Shu one of the founders of Deliveroo, developed the app while he was living above a little greasy spoon cafe down the Kings Road, and it didn't really implode until 2010.

Getting up to Daylesford and seeing how a farm should be, in an amazing position to offer farm-to-table best produce, again, it was an amazing challenge and great produce. We were very lucky to work with those leading experts. Love the Taco Boys and the humble approach that these two kids have; they were young chefs who set up a taco shack on the beach at 21 and 22 years of age, with a product that is there and then gone - these things were sold out before the end of the queue finished. I believe it really helped Future Food Stars come to life working with those experts because it gave the show so much gravitas.

The contenders don’t always see eye to eye. Were you surprised at the level of tension amongst them? Does tension always equal passion?

You know, in any business, there's always tension and there's pressure. I've always adapted to handling that pressure. They were super competitive, and differences were inevitable. They are all strong, independent characters - that’s why they are successful in what they do, running their different independent businesses. Ultimately, I wanted them to focus on the challenges ahead and stay focused on that prize, which they did.

What advice would you give to any future food stars wanting to get investment?

My advice is, to ask yourself if your business is at the forefront of the competition. What can you do to change it? Are you ready to take a quantum leap and get this business catapulted? The secret behind any great success is the art of delegation. Are they willing to let go of some of the independence and control in their brand in order to take on that help? And if they can accept that and maintain their quality and focus then the sky's the limit!