Million Pound Menu (2018–…): Season 1, Episode 6 - Naked Dough and Black Bear - full transcript
I'm Fred Sirieix.
I've worked
in the restaurant industry
for 25 years.
Right now, the UK's restaurant
scene is the envy of the world.
And all it takes
is one great idea to make
a fortune on the high street.
But has the next generation
of restaurants
got what it takes
to become a multi-million
pound business?
Over the next six weeks,
here in Manchester,
the food capital of the North,
12 of the most exciting
new restaurant ideas
are in with a chance of a
life-changing investment
from some of the UK's most
respected investors.
These are the men and women
who can turn an idea
into a national brand.
We're looking at putting a lot
of money into the absolute
best concept.
This is the kind of model that
you dream of.
If I find the right operator,
I'll be fighting for it.
[Fred] Each week,
the investors will give
the people
behind two
great new food ideas
a unique opportunity.
Ah, this is brilliant.
-[Fred]
Their own pop-up restaurant.
-[bell dings]
Right. Rock and roll, man.
[Fred] They have just three
days to prove...
Nobody seems to know
the table numbers.
-[Fred]
They've got what it takes...
-It's a disaster.
[Fred]
To make it on the high street.
When you start to rush,
that's when you start
to make more mistakes.
-There's a big backlog
of customers...
-Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
What are you going
to do about it?
If I was to invest,
it would take half a million
to £750,000.
Time to make some dough.
[Fred] After the 3 days,
will the investors walk back
into the restaurant...
[sighs]
[Fred]
And make them an offer?
It's a £600,000 lunch.
We are not gonna leave
without an investment.
I'm sorry. Your time is up.
The doors are open
for business.
Welcome to Million Pound Menu.
You know what they say
about first impressions?
Well, it's all true.
Speak to
a restaurant investor,
and they'll tell you the
first bite of their food
is everything.
Over 1,300 restaurants opened
last year in the UK.
Today, two more will be
opened for business,
hoping they've got what it
takes to make a fortune in
the restaurant business.
Always, always, wanted to own
my own restaurant.
On our social media accounts,
all our reviews are
five stars.
[narrator]
The men and women
behind some of the UK's
most successful
high-street businesses
met to choose the most
exciting new restaurant ideas
for a three-day
trial run pop-up.
[woman]
Raastawala is fun.
It's that bubbliness that
we're trying to bring through
in our presentation,
in our food.
It's the profit per site
going to be big enough
for people like ourselves
to invest?
[narrator] They were looking
for the two entrepreneurs
with the strongest food,
brand, and business plan.
This is our signature dish,
braised beef ragu
I think there are other
players in the market already
who are doing it
in a more authentic way.
[narrator] Then, each investor
had to decide whether they
liked either idea enough
to try it in Manchester.
We are Naked Dough.
Let's get naked!
[narrator]
The first idea to
whet their appetite,
two best friends who think
Britain's ready for the
latest American sweet craze,
raw cookie dough.
[Jen] We are all about bringing
fun, indulgent treats
to the UK market.
In the first three months,
we had a turnover
of £150,000.
[Hannah]
That's a lot of dough.
[Jen] It's a lot of dough.
[narrator] Hannah and Jen
are after £250,000
to take Naked Dough
nation-wide and beyond.
We're looking
for a sweet-toothed investor
to help us grow
and become a global brand.
Uh, I think this is fantastic.
I actually started my career
working in Millie's Cookies.
[laughter]
My name's Chris Miller.
I run a company called
White Rabbit,
which is a hospitality
investment fund.
The ability
to scale this is huge.
Obviously, like,
the retail side of it,
the kiosks,
the standalone sites.
At the moment,
it's just cookie dough,
but, actually, they could
use it as a base
for ice creams.
They could do actual
baked cookies.
It's actually finding a way
to... How can you expand
the initial brand
that they've created.
[Jamie]
Potentially this is genius.
This is the kind of model that
you dream of.
I'm Jamie Barber, and I've
been in the restaurant
business now for 20 years.
Traditional restaurants are
very expensive.
You look at something
like Naked Dough...
I don't think they need
a full-scale store.
The labor costs should
be pretty small.
There's no
high-level chefs required.
I see this as being a
concession that can be
popped into
a River Island or
a Topshop or a cinema.
[Shruti]
I absolutely love this.
Their branding is super
strong. You can't help
but be attracted by it.
It's a really original concept.
I can't think of a single place
it wouldn't work.
I can't think of a single
person who wouldn't
want to eat it.
I'm Shruti and I do
angel investing,
so I invest my own personal
money in small businesses.
My first ever investment was
in a restaurant business.
I think the restaurant sector
is actually quite difficult
at the moment,
and I think that's one of the
reasons why Naked Dough
really appeals to me.
I absolutely
love the branding.
I can imagine it would
very much appeal
to my two-year- old,
five-year-old and
seven-year-old.
I'm absolutely all over this
like a bad rash.
[all laughing]
Hey guys, Liz and Stew here
from Black Bear Burger.
[narrator] Next, a married
couple who want a piece
of the UK's
three billion pound
burger market.
[Liz]
Our concept with Black Bear
is simple done well.
We don't use any gimmicks
in our burger,
we just use the best
ingredients to create
a great burger.
[Stew] Since we started
trading a Broadway market,
our reputation is now one
of the best burgers
in London.
[narrator]
Liz and Stew are
after £200,000
to open their first proper
restaurant.
-Looks good.
-Do we need another
burger operator?
It doesn't really matter
whether the market is
saturated or not.
If you're entering it
and you've got a better offer,
a better price,
you'll kill the opposition.
Absolutely kill the opposition.
I mean, I'm always keen
to check out any rising
talent
and just reaffirm
our position, really.
You think I'll be sick of
burgers by now, but I'm not.
I'm Scott Collins, co-founder
and managing director
of MEATliquor.
The whole burger phenomenon,
people want a bit more...
bang for their buck and
a bit more of experience
nowadays, so...
that's why
I think we prospered.
It's not just about
the burger.
It is a fairly crowded market,
so it does have to have
an X factor.
So, from our perspective,
we'd quite like to see
a burger operator
in our, er...
in our property.
And we think it would fit
very well.
I'm Tim Gee
from Allied London.
Property development business.
It looks unhealthy,
it's going to taste delicious.
I think burgers are a great
product, always will be.
If you've got
the right product,
the right brand,
the right location,
they'll sell very, very well.
[narrator]
The ideas have been chosen.
Black Bear Burger have two
investors interested,
but three might end up
competing over Naked Dough.
[Fred]
Naked Dough
and Black Bear Burger
will open their doors
for the first time today.
In 24 hours, some of the
country's biggest
restaurant investors
will arrive
and look at their business
in every detail.
Will they walk away
with an investment,
or empty-handed?
[narrator] For the next three
days, both ideas will take
over existing restaurant sites
just 100 yards apart.
Today, Liz and Stew, and Jen
and Hannah will see their
restaurants for the first time.
[Stew] Oh, no way! Look!
[narrator]
For the past few weeks,
they've been working
with a designer...
Let's have a little look.
[narrator]
To bring their brands
to life.
[Liz] Oh, wow! Amazing!
[Stew] Oh, my God!
[Liz] It's amazing!
[Stew] It's wicked.
It's perfect.
[Stew] Just our vibe,
actually.
[Liz] Yeah, totally.
That's awesome.
Right, need to see
this kitchen.
[narrator] Newlyweds
Liz and Stew got together
at university.
The girls in our flat
had a competition as to who
could with him first.
Cheers, mate.
I wooed her over with, um,
with my love of my cow.
I live on a beef farm down
at Devon.
I've got this favorite cow
called Cow 74.
When I saw Cow 74, Stew's
favorite cow, I think
that was when I fell in love.
-[laughs]
-It's how to charm a lady.
[narrator]
After working in
Canada for two years,
they took the plunge and set
up Black Bear Burger
18 months ago.
This is the Black Bear Burger,
no gimmick, just done well.
-[laughing] What was it?
-Just a great burger.
Whilst we were there,
we sort of had, like, a bit
of an epiphany, really,
we were like actually,
when we get home,
we should do something
that we really,
really wanna do.
And that's when we set up
Black Bear.
[narrator] Their burgers have
sold so well, their food stall
has gone full-time.
[Liz] Our focus is simple,
done well.
That's always at the center
of Black Bear.
Let's get crackin'.
[narrator] Opposite Black
Bear Burger, best friends
Jen and Hannah are also
about to see their restaurant
for the first time.
-So exciting!
-So exciting.
We got a logo!
-Ooh, oh, my God!
-Oh, my God!
[Jen] Good times in the Naked
Dough restaurant.
[narrator] 33-year-old Jen
trained as a pastry chef.
-I love all the artwork
on the wall.
-Yeah.
[narrator]
And 25-year-old Hannah
gave up her job in marketing
to launch Naked Dough five
months ago.
Hannah and I have talked
about various business ideas.
She's mainly come up with some
crazy, fun-angled idea.
Honestly, I came up with the
weirdest ideas. I was like,
"This is it, this is it,
this is going to make
us millions."
But when I saw that cookie
dough was a new craze
in America,
and people were queuing for
three hours at a time
just to eat some
chocolate-chip cookie dough,
I was like,
"Ah! Brilliant!
Let's do that in London."
[narrator]
Last year, they
opened a pop-up store
in London's fashionable
Old Street.
It was an instant success,
turning over almost £50,000
in its first month.
We suddenly realized there was
going to be huge demand,
and I called up Jen on a Friday
saying, "I think I'm gonna have
to quit my job."
[Jen] We didn't know if people
would like it.
It turned out they loved it.
[narrator] Now, they're after
an investment of £250,000.
Doing this, there's something
completely and utterly new
every single day.
So happy.
Oh, it's all coming together!
[narrator] In just 24 hours,
the investors will be
arriving for lunch.
So tonight,
both restaurants will open
to the Manchester public
for their one and only
practice run.
Naked Dough and Black Bear
Burger are getting ready
for their soft launch.
From my own experience,
I know how stressful
and difficult this can be.
Regardless of that,
they must deliver.
It's their one and only
chance to get it right
before the investors arrive.
-How are you?
-[Liz] Hello.
-I like the shirt.
-Oh, thank you very much.
-[Stew] Canadian.
-Canadian.
-[Liz] Lumberjack.
-Oh, very good.
So tell me about
Black Bear, then.
You're doing well, aren't you?
Yeah, yeah,
it's going really well.
The last year has been
a bit of whirlwind,
hasn't it?
It's kind of gone a lot
better than we thought.
You know, there is a big
elephant in the room here.
I mean,
how do you think
you're going to
take over some of
the very big brands
that are out there?
We think that we've upped
the burger game.
I think our burger is better
than what is out there
at the moment.
Some of the bigger brands,
as they've grown,
they've actually
lost a little bit
of sight of their quality.
Kind of average.
What you're saying is
very well-established,
well-known brands...
You just said they're average?
Big statement.
-Big statement.
-[Liz] Yeah. Yeah.
-Gotta back it up now.
-You need to try our burger.
[laughs]
-Okay, well good luck, guys.
-Thank you very much.
-[Fred] We'll done.
-Thank you.
The burger market is worth an
incredible 3,3 billion pounds
per year in the UK.
Liz and Stew think
there is room
for one more brand.
But to succeed, you need
a superb product,
you need great branding
and amazing operation.
But have they got
these crucial ingredients?
[narrator]
Conditions are tough
for UK restaurants right now,
especially the premium
burger market.
But Liz and Stew believe
Black Bear's menu stands
out from the crowd.
So, fairly simple menu,
but it's kind of
simple done well.
[narrator] Their best-selling
Black Bear Burger is topped
with homemade onion jam,
garlic mayonnaise
and bacon.
It's priced at £7,50.
For a pound more, the brisket
burger comes with cheese
and beef brisket
braised in a beer
and mustard sauce.
On the side,
buttermilk chicken nuggets
priced at five pounds
and triple cooked chips
at £3,50.
Wee!
I'll do the fishy sauce first
and then I'll do the
onion puree.
-If you do the chives,
then, after service...
-Yeah, okay.
[narrator] As well as bringing
their own teams...
-Hey, guys.
-[Jen] Hi!
[narrator] Both restaurants
are provided with
experienced local staff.
Familiarize yourself with
the flavors.
Encouraging people to have
the milk with it,
because it's very rich.
These guys still need stickers.
[narrator] In Naked Dough,
Jen and Hannah are after
a share of the UK's
five-billion pound
confectionery market.
"Cookie Monster,
Emoji Poo,
Nuttin' Better?"
[exclaims] That's funny.
They've got
a sense of humor.
-Hello. How are you?
-Hello.
-I'm Fred.
-Welcome to Naked Dough.
-Well, this exciting.
-Yeah.
What is Naked Dough?
-Did you ever make cookies,
when you were a kid?
-Yes.
[Jen] Yes. This is
the stuff that you had
before it went in the oven.
[Fred] And it's raw?
[Hannah] It is raw.
[Jen] Completely raw.
It looks like ice cream.
It's safe to eat.
It's just like
a normal cookie dough,
but it doesn't have
any raw eggs in it.
It looks really naughty.
It is very naughty.
It's an indulgent treat.
You are already successful.
You're doing well.
-Yeah.
-Yeah
But, erm, what is
your ambition? I mean,
why are you here?
The dream is to not only
have locations in London.
We want to bring cookie dough
to the UK market as a whole,
um, open in major cities
and potentially in cinemas
-as an alternative sweet-treat.
-Yeah.
Cookie dough domination
across the world.
-Well, good luck, girls.
-[Hannah] Thank you very much.
And don't forget, the investors
want to make as much dough
as you do.
-[chuckles]
-Right?
-I like that.
-Good luck.
-Thank you very much.
-Thank you, bye.
[narrator] Jen and Hannah's
product is designed to appeal
young consumers,
the all-important
16 to 24-year-olds.
There's a choice
of eight flavors.
Alongside best-seller,
chocolate-chip,
there's peanut butter,
salted caramel with honeycomb,
and marshmallows
with sprinkles.
A tub with two scoops
is £3,90.
-It's not straight.
-It's not straight.
[narrator]
To drink, a small bottle
of milk will cost £1,99.
[narrator] 5:00 p.m.
In an hour, Naked Dough
and Black Bear Burger
open its restaurants
to the Manchester public.
Like that, and have burger,
side, side.
The first night of a restaurant
can be very difficult.
People are out for a good
time and good food.
It's not fine dining.
This is fun.
So just go smash it.
The troops must be primed
and ready for anything.
Tonight, the customers
will expect great food
and great service,
and nothing else will do.
Time to open.
Time to make some dough.
[metal clanking]
-[laughs]
-Sorry.
Honestly, it's the first time
I've done a service
in a restaurant.
Could be potentially
quite embarrassing,
but I'm just going to give
it my best shot.
-Okay, so you have
a table for two?
-I''ll come over
to take your drinks order
in a minute.
[narrator] For tonight's soft
launch, both restaurants are
offering 50 percent off.
And just 45 minutes in,
Black Bear Burger
is fully booked.
Yeah, and that is fries.
[narrator] At Naked Dough,
they're relying on walk-ins.
[Hannah]
Well, it's quite quiet,
to be honest.
but we're hoping that it will
pick up.
When we opened Old Street,
we had a queue literally
down the street.
[Fred] How are you?
[Hannah] Hi! Yeah,
good, thank you.
-It looks a bit quiet.
-Yeah, it has been
a bit quiet.
It should be packed,
because it's half priced,
shouldn't it?
Yeah, but I don't know
what to say.
Have you been outside
leafleting, speaking to
people, getting them in?
Manchester masses.
Manchester masses,
let's do it.
-See you later.
-[Jen] Thank you.
Let's go.
[Hannah] We're gonna try
some sampling,
we've got some fliers.
It's a rush hour time,
people leaving from work,
so it's like the perfect time
to go outside
and try and get people
to come in.
[Jen] Let's do it.
Push, push, push, push.
Hi, would you like to try
some cookie dough?
-Raw cookie dough?
-You like it?
-Yeah, it's nice.
-Did you like it?
-[woman] It's delicious.
-And we have a pop-up literally
just down there.
Hi, guys, do you want to try
some cookie dough?
We actually have a pop-up
right there and it's
50 percent off.
Hi, guys,
would you like to try
some cookie dough?
People who try it,
love it.
Today, we've got, um,
a pop-up.
It's just a case of educating
people, really.
Go and check it out,
it's a really fun place.
[Hannah] Should we get going?
[Jen] Yeah.
-Brisket, no--
-Brisket, no mayo,
two briskets, Black Bear...
[Fred] Black Bear Burger
have only operated their
store before.
Running a restaurant
is a completely
different ball-game.
Get crackin'
on the next ones then.
Tonight's service
is a crucial test
as to whether they can
operate on
a much bigger scale.
Still getting used
to the table numbers.
[narrator] Up till now,
Liz and Stew
have only ever served
one customer at a time.
Here you go, mate.
We were missing the five
black burgers, we didn't get
the five black burgers.
-Oh, really?
-Yeah.
Oh, God,
I'm really sorry
about that.
Babe, you didn't get
five Black Bears
on the takeaway order.
Could you get those
on for me now?
-We just can't get stuff out
quick enough.
-[Liz] Yeah.
How's it going?
Yeah, it's all right
so far. Um...
Yeah. A few little,
kind of, pickups.
A little bit slow
-off the bat, but I think we
can catch up.
-What do you mean slow?
-For the cooking?
-For the service, yeah.
Well, just...
Kind of...
As they all came in at once,
we've done them
one at a go,
but now we're kinda
just speeding up orders
a little bit.
-I'll get your burger on in
a second...
-Yeah, I'll have a double.
-[Stew] Double?
-Yeah. I might as well, no?
So, you've got a brisket
and a Black Bear with
nuggets and fries. Okay?
This is very good,
and what's even better is
the fries are amazing.
My burger was absolutely great.
It was, like,
melt in the mouth.
The food's amazing.
That's definitely one of
the best burgers I've had.
There's no doubt in my mind
that Black Bear does
amazing burgers.
The thing is, the offering
is very simple.
Now, it's enough for a street
stall, but is it enough
for a restaurant?
[narrator] At Naked Dough...
Of course, yeah.
Thanks so much,
and used very well. Great.
[narrator]
Word spread about their
half-price offer.
[Fred]
So, you got busy just now?
-Yeah, it's brilliant.
-Yeah, it did.
So is the till ringing?
The till is ringing away.
It's good.
This more what we're
used to, so it's great.
[Fred]
How's everything?
Do you like it?
It's sweet,
but yeah, very nice.
[Fred]
Is it too sweet?
-No, no, it's not.
-No such thing as too sweet.
I had the salted caramel one,
and it was perfect.
How often would you come back?
-Every day.
-[Fred] Every day? Wow,
you've got a sweet tooth.
Both restaurants
found last night difficult,
but today is going to be
even more difficult.
The investors
are coming in for lunch.
Their first bite
of their food is everything.
Get it right,
and they could well
fall in love with the business.
Get it wrong,
and they might
just walk away.
[narrator]
At Black Bear Burger,
Liz and Stew
have given up their jobs
as a burns nurse
and an oil trader to pursue
their restaurant dream.
-Our families weren't that
impressed at first, were they?
-No.
Especially, I think, 'cause
he'd done really well
at university, got first class,
so they, kind of, had really
high hopes for him.
Then when he was suddenly
like, "Actually, I'm going to
quit my job and flip burgers,"
uh, they were a little bit
concerned.
It is scary.
But we're going to give it
our best shot,
and hopefully
get an investment
at the end of it.
-Morning.
-[Liz] Morning.
-So, big day today.
-Yeah.
Two big investors
are coming in.
Tim Gee from Allied London
and Scott Collins.
Well,
he's Mr. Burger himself.
He's the man
behind MEATliquor.
-Have you heard about
MEATliquor?
-Yeah.
How do you feel about him
coming in and telling you
what he thinks
about your burger?
We are nervous, aren't we?
-There's nowhere to hide.
-There's nowhere to hide.
He knows a burger.
You think your burger is
better than the one
of MEATliquor?
-What you gotta say now?
-[both laughing]
-It's very different.
-You always think your
burger is the best.
Yeah, well, listen,
good luck today.
-Enjoy it, if you can.
-We'll try.
-[Fred] See you later.
-Thanks, Fred.
See you. Bye.
[narrator]
Over the next two days,
the investors will test
the restaurants'
business plans and service.
But today's private lunch,
is all about the food.
-We can do this, two burgers.
-I know.
[narrator] First to arrive,
Scott Collins of burger group
MEATliquor.
He's looking for a potential
diffusion brand.
I'm constantly evolving
as a business person,
I've seen a recent trend
in much larger meat brands
who are invested in smaller
start-up, independent
versions in the same
marketplace.
And Black Bear Burger,
they're starting up,
they're small,
they're in the same industry...
It's perfectly feasible
that I could run
a second burger company
alongside MEATliquor.
[narrator] His competition
is Tim Gee.
He works for a major
property developer
and is after new food brands.
[Tim] From an investor's
perspective,
you do start to question
whether the market's
over-saturated for burgers.
But there's always room for
a standout product.
I mean, there's a heck of
a lot of pizza and pasta
in Italy,
but you still open successful
pizza and pasta restaurants.
-[Liz] Hello.
-Hi. Tim
Hi, nice to meet you,
I'm Liz.
-Scott.
-Nice to meet you.
How 's it going?
Welcome to Black Bear Burger.
-Thank you very much.
-Come in. I'll take you
to your seats.
So, we've got some menus
for you.
-Thanks.
-Very simple.
[narrator]
The lunch offer today...
Just two drinks,
two burgers,
and two sides.
Good, succinct menu.
Yeah.
I'm going to have a proper
pig out and go for
-the Double-Out Black Bear,
nuggets, and fries, please.
-Nice. Good choice.
What would you go for?
I mean there's only a choice
of two...
-Well,
try the Classic Black Bear.
-All right.
-See how you get on
with the Black Bear first.
-Sounds like a plan.
[Liz] All right, cool.
Thank you, guys.
To present a burger well,
it's not necessarily
very easy at all.
And you can tell a lot from
about how it's going to
taste by looking at it.
So I want it to look great.
[whispers]
Look at that!
[Jen]
So should we put the milk
on the table, then?
[narrator]
Opposite Black Bear Burger,
Hannah and Jen have staked
everything to build their
cookie-dough empire.
Should we give them
a little menu each?
All our savings are gone now.
We've put friendships on hold,
we've put relationships
on hold.
Hannah's quit her job.
-Naked Dough is...
It's fair to say it's our life.
-Yeah, it's our life.
[narrator]
Jamie Barber, of top
London restaurant, Hache,
and two successful restaurant
chains, is first to arrive.
[Jamie]
There is nobody
that's really taking on
that instantaneous,
concession-based
sweet treats in cinemas
and retail environments
and shopping centers,
so this could be it.
If the model stacks up,
if the product is fantastic,
300 Naked Doughs,
each turning over
at £700,000 a year,
that's £1,900 million worth
of turnover.
That is a massive business.
[narrator]
Next, Shruti Ajitsaria,
a private investor
with a track record
in backing
successful restaurants.
It's really interesting that
I have never come across
a cookie-dough
provider before.
I think it's a new idea,
unique idea, but what I do
like about it is that it's not
a seasonal product,
so it's not like ice-cream,
where you only need it
to be sunny.
I think there will always
be a space in the market
for things
that are naughty treats,
and that's what this is.
[narrator] Finally,
Chris Miller,
founder
of the multi-million pound
White Rabbit Investment Fund.
The economics for each site
could be very exciting.
You don't need a very
expensive fit-out, you don't
need an expensive kitchen
which means you don't have
huge rents to pay...
Because of all of that,
it's something you can grow
quite quickly.
-Hello.
-Hi.
-Hello.
-It's so nice to meet you,
Shruti.
-Nice to meet you.
-Welcome to Naked Dough.
-Welcome to Naked Dough.
-Have a look
at the Cookie Dough.
[Jamie] Are you excited?
[Hannah] Yeah, very excited.
Would you like to have
a sort of...
A little mini-menu each?
-Perfect.
-Thank you.
What's your best-selling
flavor?
So, I would say Emoji Poos,
that, obviously,
nobody likes to say
the name of out loud,
um, and the Hazel's Nuts.
[Chris] Do they need
to be kept cold?
[Jen] So, it can last
up to four hours completely,
safely out of the fridge,
but then you can then take
it home, refrigerate it,
you can even put it
in the freezer, as well.
What would you guys
like to try?
-I'd like to try the salted
caramel one.
-[Jen] Yeah, definitely.
-May I try
the cookies 'n cream?
-Hazelnut, please.
Can you bake it as well?
When we took out the egg,
we took out the raising
agent.
-So it's warm-able,
just not bake-able.
-Right.
And can I have
the peanut butter
and the toffee apple?
You get a very, very
sugary hit as soon as you
eat the first mouthful.
-Well, I mean, it's very
tasty, but it's like... Whoa!
-[Jen] Yeah.
[Shruti] Right.
Question on health...
-How healthy do you feel?
-Yeah.
[laughs] Exactly.
How ginormous is
this going to make me?
-You know.
What is the calorie...
-Calorie content?
I don't know
the exact calorie content.
I think people see it as
an indulgent treat.
It's about having a sneaky,
sweet treat.
Wow!
That's delicious.
Good beef.
[Tim]
You're eating a beef burger.
It's beef.
I want it to have flavor.
And, yeah, that's getting
down to that...
Eating, and how many napkins
I'm going to end up
piling up.
That's the sign
of a good burger,
is when you've got
piles of used napkins,
cause you've had to keep,
yeah, wiping your hands.
I see nodding heads,
so, hopefully,
that's a good thing.
That's very, very good.
I come across a lot
of shit burgers.
That's a really,
really good burger.
You're all in, aren't you?
[Scott]
It's very easy to judge
a burger.
You get a piece of every
ingredient in the first
mouthful.
It's got to be balanced,
it's got to be special.
It can't be average.
Do you wanna grab a beer
and join us for a chat?
[Liz] Yeah,
that would be great.
-That's a bit more relaxed,
isn't it?
-Yeah.
[all laughing]
So how many covers
did you do last night?
-About 61.
-About 60.
Yeah, which, honestly,
we're used to doing.
that in Boxpark.
More.
But's a very, very different
way of serving people.
Did you give knives and
forks at Boxpark?
-No.
-Then don't do it
here tomorrow.
We haven't used them.
-Oh, yeah.
-It'd be less work for you.
That's probably the only
nugget of good advice
I've got.
-May have peaked too early.
-[Liz] That's not bad.
[laughs]
[Tim] It was,
it was delicious.
Um, the burger lived up
to expectations.
It was a really, really,
really great burger.
-Thank you very much.
-[Liz] No worries.
You can relax now.
[Tim] Probably a bit of
a concern in terms of the
limited menu and the focus.
If you lived here, over the
course of a year, how many
of those burgers could you eat?
[both laughing]
I wanna see
how easy it is to do.
Will you be the timer?
Sure.
[narrator]
Time to put
Naked Dough to the test.
Like any successful
fast food business,
speed of service is key.
-Hello.
-Welcome to Naked Dough.
Hi, so my friend
told me about this.
I don't really
understand the concept.
What is it?
-We have raw cookie dough...
-Okay.
In several different,
delicious flavors.
-Two flavors in a tub.
-I would like a scoop of that,
please.
-Yes.
-And which is the other one
that you recommend?
Um, this one.
-I'll have a sprinkle.
-Okay.
-Like that? Like that?
-Yeah, perfect. Perfect.
-Thank you so much.
-Perfect.
-How long was that, roughly?
-Two minutes ten.
Two minutes a serve...
Means that one person can do
thirty portions an hour.
So if your average transaction
value is, let's call it,
three pounds,
for the sake of argument,
then that means the maximum
one person can do
is going to be £90 an hour.
So, that just gives you an
idea in terms of what the
maximum turnover
that you could do
per server, per hour.
Talking people
through the process,
does slow down sales.
That said, the first time you
talked me through it,
it takes some time,
but then after that,
they actually know
what they're coming in for
and it starts to be
a lot quicker.
But what would be really
good is if you had
pre-made tubs with
the little watermelon
scoopy-sized,
the watermelon baller-sizes,
so if somebody wanted to come
in just to get a selection
of flavors,
that's a very quick thing
for them to get.
I think that this is
a problem.
Okay.
The fact that we've hardly made
a dent into any of them,
is that not a worry?
It's something
that we fully acknowledge.
I take it that it's not that
you didn't enjoy the flavor,
it's just too much.
Yeah, it's like the first
couple of spoonfuls
are blissful...
-Yeah.
-And then, it becomes
quite hard going.
I thought it was a really,
really lovely experience
I thought the branding
was great.
I thought they were brilliant.
I thought the first taste
was absolutely delicious.
Really tasty.
It had exactly the consistency
of cookie-dough,
which I love.
It was actually more the second
bite that started to make me
feel like my mouth was
was sticking together,
and it was very, very sweet.
And I'm not sure whether
people would return
for that product.
-Thank you so much, guys. Bye.
-Bye. Thank you.
-See you later.
-Product, I think,
is half there.
[Jen] Bye.
[Hannah] Bye.
[Jamie]
And I want to understand
whether customers
who fit the target demographic
really respond to it
in a positive way.
I think that's really
going to dictate, to me,
whether or not
it's a viable investment.
-How lovely are they?
-Really nice.
At the moment, it feels like
it could be a little bit
of a, liitle bit of a fad
and novelty that I...
I would absolutely buy
to try it out,
'cause it looks great and
tastes great
for the first bit,
but would I buy it again?
Probably not.
In reality now,
it's given me more questions
than answers
before this turns into
an investable opportunity.
[narrator] Tomorrow lunchtime,
the investors will return to
see how the restaurants cope
when they're full
of paying customers.
But today isn't over.
Jen and Hannah and
Stew and Liz now face a
grueling business meeting.
And one investor has already
made up their mind.
[Fred] So, Scott, what do you
think of Black Bear Burger?
Their passion, their
enthusiasm, it was all there.
It was great.
They do what we do.
We sort our products really
well. We put a lot of
attention to detail.
But I was hoping there'd be
some little point of
difference that would...
Would make it a bit
more exciting.
Some little Midas touch.
But do you think that two
burger brands, like yours
and theirs,
could co-exist side by side?
Yeah, the burger market's big.
Um, we don't do
just burgers.
I think they're looking to
expand their menu a little
bit further down the line,
but right now, they just
didn't have that... sort of
missing X-factor.
So are you still having your
business meeting with
them later on?
Having been through this
process myself,
in the past, with businesses,
the last thing I'd want is to
waste anybody's time
or give them false hope.
No, I think fair play.
-How are you?
-Yes, good. How are you?
-Good, thank you very much.
-Good.
I've got a bit of bad news
to announce to you.
-Okay.
-Scott Collins has decided
to pull out.
How come?
What's...
-Um, he loved the burger.
He thought it was fantastic.
-Thanks.
Just, for him, there wasn't
enough in it to justify
an investment.
-Tim Gee is still in the
running...
-[Liz and Stew] Yeah.
And he wants to talk to you
later on about your
business plan.
-[Liz] Okay.
-So, um, you're still
in the race.
We'll give it our best shot.
-All our eggs are in one
basket now, so, yeah.
-Okay.
-Good luck, guys. Good luck.
-Thank you very much.
See ya.
What you think about that,
then?
-I think it was--
-I was a bit surprised.
-Yeah.
-Yeah, still got one more.
-One more chance,
see how it goes.
-Yeah.
[narrator] Both restaurants
will now have one hour
with each remaining investor
to go through their finances
and plans for the future.
Naked Dough are up first.
And as all three investors
are in competition
with each other,
they'll each have an hour
alone with Jen and Hannah.
A really good
restaurant investment
might have what's called
a return on investment,
or return on capital
of somewhere between
25 and 35,
or even 40 percent.
Now, what that means is,
if I invest £100,000,
I should get that money back
over three years.
They're saying that they're
going to get their money back
in three months,
not three years,
so I think we really need
to probe and see whether
those numbers do stack up.
Hi, again.
[Shruti]
I love backing other female
entrepreneurs,
so I'm really pleased
to see two women
who have done such
a lot in a short period
of time.
I think if I had the confidence
they we're going to make
that product right,
I definitely like them enough
to go into business with them.
-Hello.
-Hi, how you're doing?
[Chris]
There's definitely a potential
for investment still.
I need to see their financials
and properly understand
what's going on there.
[narrator] Up 'til now,
Naked Dough has only traded
at London's Old Street.
Jen and Hannah want £250,000
to take it nationwide.
I really love cookie dough.
Like, I'm the person, that in
the Ben & Jerry's ice-cream,
eats the cookie dough.
But even I could not have
finished a pot of that.
I mean that is my major
concern with it, really.
You know,
every pot came with a lid.
And you know, if
you decide to eat it
then and there,
then great,
and if you decide to take
it home...
I think very few people
are going to think,
"I'll eat a little bit here
and I'll take it home."
I just, that doesn't
make sense to me.
[Jamie] Now is where
the nitty-gritty starts.
So you've had June, July,
August, September and
October at the Old Street.
-Yeah.
-So run me through
the turnover in those months.
So the first month was,
I think, nearly 48,000...
48,000.
-So 48,000 in June.
-Mmm-hmm.
-And then July?
-[Jen] Um, 40, nearly 43,000.
-And in August?
-Was 36,000.
[Jamie] Yep.
-28,000 in September.
-Yeah, yeah.
And then it went to 23
in October.
That's not a building revenue
stream, that's a declining
revenue stream.
The facts are, in six months,
the turnover is half from
where it was when it started.
Now, that decline is very,
very scary,
and if those are the only facts
you got to look at, you got
to take them very seriously.
So I'm worried.
He did grill us
on the numbers.
It's a shame that
we don't have more than
five months worth of data,
because I think we were always
gonna start with the traction
that we had.
It was always going to start
off on a ridiculous high.
We realize that Old Street
hasn't been the best location
to hit our target market,
so we did see that drop.
I think you're absolutely
right on the location.
It's not right for you.
I totally understand why
you've had this big jump
at the start, and then
quite a dramatic fall off.
The question is
where does that end,
and will that be repeated
for other sites?
It's one that I'm genuinely
tempted to buy
because it's such a lovely
business model.
They'll open a good few sites.
The problem is,
with those places,
is you'll open with a big bang
and soon as your sales drop
off,
they kick you out very
quickly.
How difficult is it for
somebody else to come
in with a cookie-dough brand?
Not difficult.
It could be replicated.
Which is why we
need to act quickly.
[narrator] During the meeting,
the investors can choose to
spell out the offer
they'll make
if, and only if,
they decide
to invest tomorrow.
Right now, I have no idea
what an offer will be,
because I need to go away
and understand the numbers.
Will it become like
Krispy Kreme donuts
or Millie's Cookies?
Or will it be
just another fad?
It's definitely one
that would be
a roll of the dice.
Need to sleep on it
and look at some numbers
in the morning.
-Thank you.
-[Chris] Thanks very much.
Thank you so much.
Very nice to meet you.
He seems so well-versed
in exactly how this
would work.
He has...
I get the impression
that he...
He would know exactly how
to scale this.
So actually, I think, what
would be really interesting
for me
to do tomorrow,
is to talk to the customers.
That's the piece that's going
to be really interesting
for me tomorrow,
is finding out
what other people think.
I understand how I think,
but l just want to see
what others think.
Obviously, I've got my own
perspective on whether or not
I would eat an entire
two scoops of cookie dough,
but it would be interesting
to hear what other people say.
I think, if they can't shape
their product
in a way that will
make people go back
to have it again and
again and again, then...
Then it's not going to work
as business.
-Thank you very much.
-Nice to see you.
[Jen] She had really good
constructive criticism
for us.
She felt very strongly
about the product offering
not being right.
We need to discuss that,
whether we'd be willing to...
To change it.
I'm not necessarily the
target demographic,
which is why I'd like to see
how the demographic
that you really are after
responds to it.
I think that they've got
the genesis of a good idea.
I think they've got a product
which they know,
is not perfect.
I want to see
how the general public
respond to it.
So tomorrow's the day.
Thank you very much and
look forward to tomorrow.
-Thank you very much.
Nice to see you.
-And you.
I have faith in the people
that are coming tomorrow.
I think, fingers crossed,
they do us proud
and they like the product
and they give good feedback
to the investors.
It's not really in our hands.
It's in theirs.
[narrator] Now,
it's Black Bear Burger's turn.
With Scott Collins
no longer in the running,
Liz and Stew's only hope
of investment lies
with property developer,
Tim Gee.
[Tim] The sites that
we're offering are
very prominent, very public,
and would be the first choice
of any restaurant operator.
Hello.
How's it going?
[Tim] I want to probe them
a bit more,
what they think the next
steps are going to be,
and, you know,
just get a scale
of their ambition and ability
before you can ever make
a consideration as to whether
you want to invest or not.
[narrator] For the past month,
Liz and Stew have traded as
a pop-up in London's Boxpark.
Now, they want
£200,000 to become
a full-time restaurant.
[Tim] I wanted to start
by talking about the menu,
because you've got a couple
of sample menus.
The one that you presented
today, is that what
you're currently offering?
The menu we're offering
today is just the one
we've tried at Boxpark.
Um, but, the other burgers
on the menu we have
tested as well,
and it's just something
that we want to have
in our restaurant.
We never wanna have
a massive menu.
We always want to, kind of,
keep it fairly simple.
[Tim] It's so key to have
a good, cohesive menu
that's going to
not ruin the opportunity
of groups to visit.
You're not going to have
that one person going,
'There's nothing for me."
Um, and to do it well.
I'd like to move on to,
what is this restaurant going
to look like in you mind?
I think, kind of our vision
for, maybe, the first site
would be fairly small.
Like, 30, 40 seats.
-Similar to where you are?
-Yeah, similar to there.
We won't be looking
at opening, straight off
the bat, like a...
150-seater restaurant.
'Cause we kinda wanna always
keep that small,
independent feel,
and we think that's the way
the, kind of, burger market
is going anyway.
[narrator]
The meeting's almost over.
Now, Tim has to decide
whether he's ready to
discuss a potential offer.
Where's the dream?
You know, it'd be nice to have
maybe one in London or two,
and then kind of
branch out to other cities,
Before Boxpark, we were
looking at potential
restaurant sites in London,
and to get into a site,
you have to have
upfront of 100k...
-Yeah.
-Or more.
There's still such a barrier
to entry for us.
The reality is,
maybe the first site
needs to be located
where that's
not such a challenge.
-[Liz] Yeah.
-It can be an enormous amount
of money.
As of today, they're not ready
to step straight into
a restaurant, in my opinion.
It's crucial to see
that they're able
to translate their passion
and great food into a team
and a public environment.
-[Tim] Really good...
-Yeah.
-To meet you.
-Yeah, yeah.
They've got a lot to prove
to me tomorrow.
Tomorrow it's really important
for us just to demonstrate
that we're capable of
doing this.
Take this concept
and roll it to, um,
into more sites.
The two restaurants
are in with a chance
of a life-changing investment.
But the investors
have serious questions
about both ideas.
Today's final service for the
paying public will be what
makes up their mind.
Right now, everything
hangs in the balance.
[narrator] And with no offers
on the table for either
restaurant,
it all comes down to today,
to convince the investors.
-So what would you like
to try?
-[man] Mud Bath.
Mud Bath? Yeah.
So we're giving away
50 free pots to the first
customers at 1:00 p.m. today.
[narrator] At Naked Dough,
Jen and Hannah are taking
to the streets of Manchester
to drum up
a full lunchtime service.
[Hannah]
So this is Salted Caramel
and Mud Bath.
[Jen] If you guys are free
at 1:00 p.m. for a bit
of cookie-dough sampling...
So you've got Nutella
and Kinder Bueno
and Salted Caramel
with Honeycomb.
-How's it going?
-It's good.
-Yeah?
-Yeah.
[Jen] People are giving good
feedback, and I think
we're getting some good buzz
for today's lunch service,
so, yeah.
-They like it when they try it?
-They do seem to like it
when they try it, so...
[Fred] Ah, let's see what
these two think.
-Do you want to try that?
-Would you guys like
to try some?
It's raw, edible cookie dough.
So just like you used
to have when you were a kid.
This is Oreo.
So it's vegan
cookies and cream.
Their response has been great,
um, and people seem to be
really keen to pop down.
If you guys have time,
pop down.
So we're really hoping
to have a buzz
in the shop today.
Do you like it? Are you guys
going to come buy it
at 1:00, 2:30?
-Yeah.
-Brilliant, thanks a lot.
Well done. That's good.
Yeah, it's brilliant.
[narrator] In 15 minutes,
both restaurants open for
business for the last time.
[Stew] Let's keep talking to
each other, make sure we're
going at the same pace, yeah?
We got it.
[Jen] There's a really
big queue!
[Hannah] Is there?
Yay! Welcome to Naked Dough!
-Hi, guys!
-Oh, so exciting!
[man]
We're going to have
an amazing day today.
Nice and busy.
Look at the queue.
Big smiles.
Do you need any help
deciding?
One Black Bear, one brisket.
-Yeah.
-And I got some fries,
all right?
Do you guys know,
you get two scoops per pot?
So you can, kind of,
mix and match
whichever ones you like.
[Jen] Enjoy! Thank you.
[Hannah] Feel free to draw on
the tables.
[Hannah] Get creative.
[Jen] Enjoy! Have a seat.
[narrator] Jamie Barber
and Shruti Ajitsaria
are the first to arrive at
Naked Dough.
[Jen] Hi, guys, welcome!
I'm still here because
the idea of it is genius.
At the end of the day,
I am not the demographic.
The demographic
that likes this product
is female, 18 to 25-year-olds.
So I can't be swayed too
much by own impression.
What I want to see is what
that generation thinks
about the product.
And then I might have
a different view.
I'm really looking forward
to seeing how
the user experience goes,
so how they make
the consumers feel special.
And I'm also really interested
to speak to the people
eating it
to understand, for myself,
whether they think
the portions are too big
and whether they would return.
-So, um...
-There's no Chris.
-[Fred] Chris. How are you?
-How are you, Fred?
-Good, thank you. Very good.
-Good.
So tell me, what do you
think about Naked Dough?
Something's been bothering
me about the business.
So I then had a look
at their financials
in a bit more detail,
and what that
shows to me is,
people are excited
to try it,
but they don't come back.
-Right.
-And if you don't have
repeat custom...
You very quickly
don't have a business.
It's a nice, exciting brand
but, for me,
it's too high-risk.
Well, if you don't think it's
worth your money, there's
nothing you can do.
-You gotta go.
-Exactly.
-All right, well,
thank you very much, Chris.
-Thanks a lot.
-Have a good day. Take care.
-Thank you.
[Hannah] It seems like Chris
hasn't turned up.
He asked for our financials
last night, which I
sent over to him,
and, uh, potentially, he didn't
see what he, you know,
he didn't feel comfortable
with it, he maybe thought
it was too much of a risk,
which is fair enough.
There are two investors
still in the shop,
so there's still a chance
we might get the investment.
[narrator]
At Black Bear Burger,
their only hope of investment
lies with Tim Gee.
[Tim]
Today is very, very important.
It's very, very different,
serving burgers
to two investors
,in a quiet environment
to flipping the tables on
a 30-seat restaurant.
Probably for
the first time ever,
because they have been,
historically, a street
food operator.
Out of the food truck,
into a property.
Um, that's why we're here.
Can you do this?
How hungry are you?
-I'm quite hungry.
So I'm thinking--
-Why don't you get...
Black Bear and nuggets?
Let's give it a shot, yeah?
Okay, I'll get on from here.
All right, here you go, guys,
a Black Bear and fries.
What are you going to go for?
Chicken nuggets?
-Chicken nuggets.
-[Liz] Yeah?
Chicken nuggets, brisket...
[Tim] There's a good,
good mix of people here.
I'm interested,
there's a family come in
and it's a great buzz.
[Liz] I'm actually
really enjoying it today.
I know what I'm doing.
The other night,
on our soft launch,
I was even finding it
difficult to, like, smile,
talk to people,
'cause I was so anxious
and nervous, and I
wasn't really being myself.
Well, now I'm able to
talk to the customers and
provide a really good service.
-Here you go. All right?
-Good man.
It does look good.
What'd you think?
-It is very nice.
-It is very good, yeah.
Don't think I could
eat the whole thing,
to be quite honest.
They said we could take
it home, though.
-Because freezer.
-I've probably had enough.
-No, I've demolished it.
-You've demolished it.
-I loved it.
-So, you're a big fan.
Perfect.
-Have you had it before
anywhere?
-[man] No, no.
-No, first time.
-Really rich, isn't it?
How do you feel about
the portion?
Do you think you're going
to be able to finish that?
Um, probably not.
-At one go, we got two scoops.
-One scoop would've been...
I do really enjoy it.
I don't feel worried
with the investors
speaking to customers.
Um, I want them to be honest.
We can't improve as a business
without some critical
feedback.
Do you find it super sweet?
It's just perfect for me.
I used to, I used to sit
at home and eat raw
cookie-dough, anyway.
-Right.
-Can I ask how you're getting
on with it?
I think, for me,
one scoop
would be enough.
Generally speaking,
people like the branding.
Generally speaking, people
like the product,
but, mostly, in small doses.
And I think that's
going to be the real issue.
A very, very small proportion
were able to finish an
entire tub of cookie dough.
[man]
It's tasty, but too sweet.
-Yeah, too much.
-[Shruti] Too much?
On a positive note,
there was a lot of demand
for people to try
lots of different flavors.
It was definitely
a fun product.
People wanted
to take photos of it.
People wanted to share it.
People wanted to say
that they've been.
And I think if they can
match the product
to that Instagram ability,
they might have the kernel of
something really, really sexy.
-Thank you.
-Thank you so much.
I think they need to figure out
how they're going to sell
smaller portions,
while still being able
to charge enough
to make this a viable business.
So, I'm gonna go away now,
I'm gonna have a coffee,
I'm gonna have a really,
really good think,
I'm going to make a list
in my own head, just to
the things I love about it,
and there are a lot,
and things
I'm not sure about,
and then I'm gonna have a
sense of what I'm going to
do next.
Got the Black Bear
with nuggets and fries.
Fabulous.
The food was as good
as it was yesterday.
You know,
it was great yesterday,
I want very consistent.
Visually, the taste,
perfectly cooked.
Exactly the same.
And the service, Liz,
she's good.
The question for us is,
can we take this fantastic
street-food operation,
and turn it
into a successful restaurant
that is just as good
as they are at street-food
from day one?
That was wicked.
All right,
let's get out of here.
Come on, guys.
-[exclaims indistinctly]
-[laughs]
[narrator] Lunch is over.
Now the pressure is on
the investors.
They have to decide whether
the ideas are worth
their money.
-How are you, girls?
-Good, thank you.
-Good, Fred.
-So...
The investors have been
given a deadline.
-Okay.
-They have one hour to come
back and make you an offer.
-Okay.
-If they're back in that hour,
it's game on.
If they're not,
then it's game over.
How do you feel about that?
It's a long time to wait.
[narrator]
Jen and Hannah came
looking for £250,000.
Jamie Barber
and Shruti Ajitsaria
are both still interested.
If they're to make an
investment,
they have until 6:30 p.m.
to return to the restaurant.
-This is what it comes
down to.
-[Hannah] Yes.
-Oh, you've done great.
-Thank you.
You went out there,
drummed up the business,
got people to learn
about your product.
-I really enjoyed today.
-Yeah, today was good.
How long is it?
[Fred] We've got another
15 minutes.
-Another 15 minutes.
-Yeah.
We still believe
in the product.
We're not gonna stop.
We still think Naked Dough
is going to be a big brand.
That's true.
-Girls. The time is up.
-Time.
-Okay.
-[Fred] They're not coming.
Okay.
I'm sorry.
I'm gutted for you,
but in the same time,
you know, maybe
it wasn't the right fit.
Maybe.
[Jamie] I think these guys
have been fantastic.
I rate them as entrepreneurs.
I think they are hungry,
I think they will overcome odds
and get to where they need to.
But I think, they're
probably six months
too early,
because all we've got at
the moment is pure data,
and the pure data is
they've got one store
which has got six months
of month-on-month
declining sales.
And they've got an idea,
and that idea
is not perfected yet,
and, unfortunately,
in this case,
the investment
just doesn't stack up.
[Shruti] I actually thought
the branding looked beautiful
and I thought it was
a really exciting concept.
I really liked them and I
really wanted to like
the business, actually.
As much as I
wanted to love the product,
unfortunately I didn't,
and so, for me, that means
I can't invest.
[Jen] I feel gutted.
We put our heart and soul
into everything that we do.
At the same time,
it's been a really good
learning curve.
-Yeah.
-Um...
[Hannah] And we really
appreciate all the advice
and thoughts and opinions
that people have had
on our business.
I still think we've got a good
thing going.
Yeah.
-C'est la vie, Fred.
-C'est la vie.
[narrator]
At Black Bear Burger,
Stew and Liz
came looking for £200,000.
Tim Gee has until 8:00 p.m.
to walk through the door.
Only ten minutes.
20 minutes to go.
[chuckles nervously]
Where's your head at right now?
We'll just have to wait
and see.
How long we got?
Six.
Six minutes.
Guys.
The time is up.
Time's up?
It's kind of been...
The whole experience is...
It's been a big learning
curve, but it's actually...
Shown ourselves
that we can actually
run a restaurant service.
We're gonna draw
on the experiences
that we've had here
and, uh, you know, really,
kind of, set up a
successful restaurant from it.
We've done it on our
own up 'til this point,
so we're going to continue
doing that.
[Tim] Unfortunately, we won't
be pursuing our interest
in Black Bear.
There's no denying
that, currently,
their menu is limited.
You know, we would need
to see more development
on that front
and just a general confidence
that they're able to run
a business
and not just a street
food pop up.
There is a sense of regret.
I looked at the business plan.
I ate the burger.
I met the people.
It was all,
it was all wonderful.
Um, but, you know, it's
got to be a perfect marriage
isn't it?
And we're just not there.
We don't often give ourselves
a lot of praise and a pat
on the back,
but I think
going through this together,
has made us a lot stronger,
um, and I think it's
been a really, really,
positive experience for us.
[Fred] What do you need to do
to secure an investment?
Naked Dough and Black
Bear Burger worked so hard
at this,
and yet it wasn't enough.
This is a tough business
and I wish them every success.
I've worked
in the restaurant industry
for 25 years.
Right now, the UK's restaurant
scene is the envy of the world.
And all it takes
is one great idea to make
a fortune on the high street.
But has the next generation
of restaurants
got what it takes
to become a multi-million
pound business?
Over the next six weeks,
here in Manchester,
the food capital of the North,
12 of the most exciting
new restaurant ideas
are in with a chance of a
life-changing investment
from some of the UK's most
respected investors.
These are the men and women
who can turn an idea
into a national brand.
We're looking at putting a lot
of money into the absolute
best concept.
This is the kind of model that
you dream of.
If I find the right operator,
I'll be fighting for it.
[Fred] Each week,
the investors will give
the people
behind two
great new food ideas
a unique opportunity.
Ah, this is brilliant.
-[Fred]
Their own pop-up restaurant.
-[bell dings]
Right. Rock and roll, man.
[Fred] They have just three
days to prove...
Nobody seems to know
the table numbers.
-[Fred]
They've got what it takes...
-It's a disaster.
[Fred]
To make it on the high street.
When you start to rush,
that's when you start
to make more mistakes.
-There's a big backlog
of customers...
-Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
What are you going
to do about it?
If I was to invest,
it would take half a million
to £750,000.
Time to make some dough.
[Fred] After the 3 days,
will the investors walk back
into the restaurant...
[sighs]
[Fred]
And make them an offer?
It's a £600,000 lunch.
We are not gonna leave
without an investment.
I'm sorry. Your time is up.
The doors are open
for business.
Welcome to Million Pound Menu.
You know what they say
about first impressions?
Well, it's all true.
Speak to
a restaurant investor,
and they'll tell you the
first bite of their food
is everything.
Over 1,300 restaurants opened
last year in the UK.
Today, two more will be
opened for business,
hoping they've got what it
takes to make a fortune in
the restaurant business.
Always, always, wanted to own
my own restaurant.
On our social media accounts,
all our reviews are
five stars.
[narrator]
The men and women
behind some of the UK's
most successful
high-street businesses
met to choose the most
exciting new restaurant ideas
for a three-day
trial run pop-up.
[woman]
Raastawala is fun.
It's that bubbliness that
we're trying to bring through
in our presentation,
in our food.
It's the profit per site
going to be big enough
for people like ourselves
to invest?
[narrator] They were looking
for the two entrepreneurs
with the strongest food,
brand, and business plan.
This is our signature dish,
braised beef ragu
I think there are other
players in the market already
who are doing it
in a more authentic way.
[narrator] Then, each investor
had to decide whether they
liked either idea enough
to try it in Manchester.
We are Naked Dough.
Let's get naked!
[narrator]
The first idea to
whet their appetite,
two best friends who think
Britain's ready for the
latest American sweet craze,
raw cookie dough.
[Jen] We are all about bringing
fun, indulgent treats
to the UK market.
In the first three months,
we had a turnover
of £150,000.
[Hannah]
That's a lot of dough.
[Jen] It's a lot of dough.
[narrator] Hannah and Jen
are after £250,000
to take Naked Dough
nation-wide and beyond.
We're looking
for a sweet-toothed investor
to help us grow
and become a global brand.
Uh, I think this is fantastic.
I actually started my career
working in Millie's Cookies.
[laughter]
My name's Chris Miller.
I run a company called
White Rabbit,
which is a hospitality
investment fund.
The ability
to scale this is huge.
Obviously, like,
the retail side of it,
the kiosks,
the standalone sites.
At the moment,
it's just cookie dough,
but, actually, they could
use it as a base
for ice creams.
They could do actual
baked cookies.
It's actually finding a way
to... How can you expand
the initial brand
that they've created.
[Jamie]
Potentially this is genius.
This is the kind of model that
you dream of.
I'm Jamie Barber, and I've
been in the restaurant
business now for 20 years.
Traditional restaurants are
very expensive.
You look at something
like Naked Dough...
I don't think they need
a full-scale store.
The labor costs should
be pretty small.
There's no
high-level chefs required.
I see this as being a
concession that can be
popped into
a River Island or
a Topshop or a cinema.
[Shruti]
I absolutely love this.
Their branding is super
strong. You can't help
but be attracted by it.
It's a really original concept.
I can't think of a single place
it wouldn't work.
I can't think of a single
person who wouldn't
want to eat it.
I'm Shruti and I do
angel investing,
so I invest my own personal
money in small businesses.
My first ever investment was
in a restaurant business.
I think the restaurant sector
is actually quite difficult
at the moment,
and I think that's one of the
reasons why Naked Dough
really appeals to me.
I absolutely
love the branding.
I can imagine it would
very much appeal
to my two-year- old,
five-year-old and
seven-year-old.
I'm absolutely all over this
like a bad rash.
[all laughing]
Hey guys, Liz and Stew here
from Black Bear Burger.
[narrator] Next, a married
couple who want a piece
of the UK's
three billion pound
burger market.
[Liz]
Our concept with Black Bear
is simple done well.
We don't use any gimmicks
in our burger,
we just use the best
ingredients to create
a great burger.
[Stew] Since we started
trading a Broadway market,
our reputation is now one
of the best burgers
in London.
[narrator]
Liz and Stew are
after £200,000
to open their first proper
restaurant.
-Looks good.
-Do we need another
burger operator?
It doesn't really matter
whether the market is
saturated or not.
If you're entering it
and you've got a better offer,
a better price,
you'll kill the opposition.
Absolutely kill the opposition.
I mean, I'm always keen
to check out any rising
talent
and just reaffirm
our position, really.
You think I'll be sick of
burgers by now, but I'm not.
I'm Scott Collins, co-founder
and managing director
of MEATliquor.
The whole burger phenomenon,
people want a bit more...
bang for their buck and
a bit more of experience
nowadays, so...
that's why
I think we prospered.
It's not just about
the burger.
It is a fairly crowded market,
so it does have to have
an X factor.
So, from our perspective,
we'd quite like to see
a burger operator
in our, er...
in our property.
And we think it would fit
very well.
I'm Tim Gee
from Allied London.
Property development business.
It looks unhealthy,
it's going to taste delicious.
I think burgers are a great
product, always will be.
If you've got
the right product,
the right brand,
the right location,
they'll sell very, very well.
[narrator]
The ideas have been chosen.
Black Bear Burger have two
investors interested,
but three might end up
competing over Naked Dough.
[Fred]
Naked Dough
and Black Bear Burger
will open their doors
for the first time today.
In 24 hours, some of the
country's biggest
restaurant investors
will arrive
and look at their business
in every detail.
Will they walk away
with an investment,
or empty-handed?
[narrator] For the next three
days, both ideas will take
over existing restaurant sites
just 100 yards apart.
Today, Liz and Stew, and Jen
and Hannah will see their
restaurants for the first time.
[Stew] Oh, no way! Look!
[narrator]
For the past few weeks,
they've been working
with a designer...
Let's have a little look.
[narrator]
To bring their brands
to life.
[Liz] Oh, wow! Amazing!
[Stew] Oh, my God!
[Liz] It's amazing!
[Stew] It's wicked.
It's perfect.
[Stew] Just our vibe,
actually.
[Liz] Yeah, totally.
That's awesome.
Right, need to see
this kitchen.
[narrator] Newlyweds
Liz and Stew got together
at university.
The girls in our flat
had a competition as to who
could with him first.
Cheers, mate.
I wooed her over with, um,
with my love of my cow.
I live on a beef farm down
at Devon.
I've got this favorite cow
called Cow 74.
When I saw Cow 74, Stew's
favorite cow, I think
that was when I fell in love.
-[laughs]
-It's how to charm a lady.
[narrator]
After working in
Canada for two years,
they took the plunge and set
up Black Bear Burger
18 months ago.
This is the Black Bear Burger,
no gimmick, just done well.
-[laughing] What was it?
-Just a great burger.
Whilst we were there,
we sort of had, like, a bit
of an epiphany, really,
we were like actually,
when we get home,
we should do something
that we really,
really wanna do.
And that's when we set up
Black Bear.
[narrator] Their burgers have
sold so well, their food stall
has gone full-time.
[Liz] Our focus is simple,
done well.
That's always at the center
of Black Bear.
Let's get crackin'.
[narrator] Opposite Black
Bear Burger, best friends
Jen and Hannah are also
about to see their restaurant
for the first time.
-So exciting!
-So exciting.
We got a logo!
-Ooh, oh, my God!
-Oh, my God!
[Jen] Good times in the Naked
Dough restaurant.
[narrator] 33-year-old Jen
trained as a pastry chef.
-I love all the artwork
on the wall.
-Yeah.
[narrator]
And 25-year-old Hannah
gave up her job in marketing
to launch Naked Dough five
months ago.
Hannah and I have talked
about various business ideas.
She's mainly come up with some
crazy, fun-angled idea.
Honestly, I came up with the
weirdest ideas. I was like,
"This is it, this is it,
this is going to make
us millions."
But when I saw that cookie
dough was a new craze
in America,
and people were queuing for
three hours at a time
just to eat some
chocolate-chip cookie dough,
I was like,
"Ah! Brilliant!
Let's do that in London."
[narrator]
Last year, they
opened a pop-up store
in London's fashionable
Old Street.
It was an instant success,
turning over almost £50,000
in its first month.
We suddenly realized there was
going to be huge demand,
and I called up Jen on a Friday
saying, "I think I'm gonna have
to quit my job."
[Jen] We didn't know if people
would like it.
It turned out they loved it.
[narrator] Now, they're after
an investment of £250,000.
Doing this, there's something
completely and utterly new
every single day.
So happy.
Oh, it's all coming together!
[narrator] In just 24 hours,
the investors will be
arriving for lunch.
So tonight,
both restaurants will open
to the Manchester public
for their one and only
practice run.
Naked Dough and Black Bear
Burger are getting ready
for their soft launch.
From my own experience,
I know how stressful
and difficult this can be.
Regardless of that,
they must deliver.
It's their one and only
chance to get it right
before the investors arrive.
-How are you?
-[Liz] Hello.
-I like the shirt.
-Oh, thank you very much.
-[Stew] Canadian.
-Canadian.
-[Liz] Lumberjack.
-Oh, very good.
So tell me about
Black Bear, then.
You're doing well, aren't you?
Yeah, yeah,
it's going really well.
The last year has been
a bit of whirlwind,
hasn't it?
It's kind of gone a lot
better than we thought.
You know, there is a big
elephant in the room here.
I mean,
how do you think
you're going to
take over some of
the very big brands
that are out there?
We think that we've upped
the burger game.
I think our burger is better
than what is out there
at the moment.
Some of the bigger brands,
as they've grown,
they've actually
lost a little bit
of sight of their quality.
Kind of average.
What you're saying is
very well-established,
well-known brands...
You just said they're average?
Big statement.
-Big statement.
-[Liz] Yeah. Yeah.
-Gotta back it up now.
-You need to try our burger.
[laughs]
-Okay, well good luck, guys.
-Thank you very much.
-[Fred] We'll done.
-Thank you.
The burger market is worth an
incredible 3,3 billion pounds
per year in the UK.
Liz and Stew think
there is room
for one more brand.
But to succeed, you need
a superb product,
you need great branding
and amazing operation.
But have they got
these crucial ingredients?
[narrator]
Conditions are tough
for UK restaurants right now,
especially the premium
burger market.
But Liz and Stew believe
Black Bear's menu stands
out from the crowd.
So, fairly simple menu,
but it's kind of
simple done well.
[narrator] Their best-selling
Black Bear Burger is topped
with homemade onion jam,
garlic mayonnaise
and bacon.
It's priced at £7,50.
For a pound more, the brisket
burger comes with cheese
and beef brisket
braised in a beer
and mustard sauce.
On the side,
buttermilk chicken nuggets
priced at five pounds
and triple cooked chips
at £3,50.
Wee!
I'll do the fishy sauce first
and then I'll do the
onion puree.
-If you do the chives,
then, after service...
-Yeah, okay.
[narrator] As well as bringing
their own teams...
-Hey, guys.
-[Jen] Hi!
[narrator] Both restaurants
are provided with
experienced local staff.
Familiarize yourself with
the flavors.
Encouraging people to have
the milk with it,
because it's very rich.
These guys still need stickers.
[narrator] In Naked Dough,
Jen and Hannah are after
a share of the UK's
five-billion pound
confectionery market.
"Cookie Monster,
Emoji Poo,
Nuttin' Better?"
[exclaims] That's funny.
They've got
a sense of humor.
-Hello. How are you?
-Hello.
-I'm Fred.
-Welcome to Naked Dough.
-Well, this exciting.
-Yeah.
What is Naked Dough?
-Did you ever make cookies,
when you were a kid?
-Yes.
[Jen] Yes. This is
the stuff that you had
before it went in the oven.
[Fred] And it's raw?
[Hannah] It is raw.
[Jen] Completely raw.
It looks like ice cream.
It's safe to eat.
It's just like
a normal cookie dough,
but it doesn't have
any raw eggs in it.
It looks really naughty.
It is very naughty.
It's an indulgent treat.
You are already successful.
You're doing well.
-Yeah.
-Yeah
But, erm, what is
your ambition? I mean,
why are you here?
The dream is to not only
have locations in London.
We want to bring cookie dough
to the UK market as a whole,
um, open in major cities
and potentially in cinemas
-as an alternative sweet-treat.
-Yeah.
Cookie dough domination
across the world.
-Well, good luck, girls.
-[Hannah] Thank you very much.
And don't forget, the investors
want to make as much dough
as you do.
-[chuckles]
-Right?
-I like that.
-Good luck.
-Thank you very much.
-Thank you, bye.
[narrator] Jen and Hannah's
product is designed to appeal
young consumers,
the all-important
16 to 24-year-olds.
There's a choice
of eight flavors.
Alongside best-seller,
chocolate-chip,
there's peanut butter,
salted caramel with honeycomb,
and marshmallows
with sprinkles.
A tub with two scoops
is £3,90.
-It's not straight.
-It's not straight.
[narrator]
To drink, a small bottle
of milk will cost £1,99.
[narrator] 5:00 p.m.
In an hour, Naked Dough
and Black Bear Burger
open its restaurants
to the Manchester public.
Like that, and have burger,
side, side.
The first night of a restaurant
can be very difficult.
People are out for a good
time and good food.
It's not fine dining.
This is fun.
So just go smash it.
The troops must be primed
and ready for anything.
Tonight, the customers
will expect great food
and great service,
and nothing else will do.
Time to open.
Time to make some dough.
[metal clanking]
-[laughs]
-Sorry.
Honestly, it's the first time
I've done a service
in a restaurant.
Could be potentially
quite embarrassing,
but I'm just going to give
it my best shot.
-Okay, so you have
a table for two?
-I''ll come over
to take your drinks order
in a minute.
[narrator] For tonight's soft
launch, both restaurants are
offering 50 percent off.
And just 45 minutes in,
Black Bear Burger
is fully booked.
Yeah, and that is fries.
[narrator] At Naked Dough,
they're relying on walk-ins.
[Hannah]
Well, it's quite quiet,
to be honest.
but we're hoping that it will
pick up.
When we opened Old Street,
we had a queue literally
down the street.
[Fred] How are you?
[Hannah] Hi! Yeah,
good, thank you.
-It looks a bit quiet.
-Yeah, it has been
a bit quiet.
It should be packed,
because it's half priced,
shouldn't it?
Yeah, but I don't know
what to say.
Have you been outside
leafleting, speaking to
people, getting them in?
Manchester masses.
Manchester masses,
let's do it.
-See you later.
-[Jen] Thank you.
Let's go.
[Hannah] We're gonna try
some sampling,
we've got some fliers.
It's a rush hour time,
people leaving from work,
so it's like the perfect time
to go outside
and try and get people
to come in.
[Jen] Let's do it.
Push, push, push, push.
Hi, would you like to try
some cookie dough?
-Raw cookie dough?
-You like it?
-Yeah, it's nice.
-Did you like it?
-[woman] It's delicious.
-And we have a pop-up literally
just down there.
Hi, guys, do you want to try
some cookie dough?
We actually have a pop-up
right there and it's
50 percent off.
Hi, guys,
would you like to try
some cookie dough?
People who try it,
love it.
Today, we've got, um,
a pop-up.
It's just a case of educating
people, really.
Go and check it out,
it's a really fun place.
[Hannah] Should we get going?
[Jen] Yeah.
-Brisket, no--
-Brisket, no mayo,
two briskets, Black Bear...
[Fred] Black Bear Burger
have only operated their
store before.
Running a restaurant
is a completely
different ball-game.
Get crackin'
on the next ones then.
Tonight's service
is a crucial test
as to whether they can
operate on
a much bigger scale.
Still getting used
to the table numbers.
[narrator] Up till now,
Liz and Stew
have only ever served
one customer at a time.
Here you go, mate.
We were missing the five
black burgers, we didn't get
the five black burgers.
-Oh, really?
-Yeah.
Oh, God,
I'm really sorry
about that.
Babe, you didn't get
five Black Bears
on the takeaway order.
Could you get those
on for me now?
-We just can't get stuff out
quick enough.
-[Liz] Yeah.
How's it going?
Yeah, it's all right
so far. Um...
Yeah. A few little,
kind of, pickups.
A little bit slow
-off the bat, but I think we
can catch up.
-What do you mean slow?
-For the cooking?
-For the service, yeah.
Well, just...
Kind of...
As they all came in at once,
we've done them
one at a go,
but now we're kinda
just speeding up orders
a little bit.
-I'll get your burger on in
a second...
-Yeah, I'll have a double.
-[Stew] Double?
-Yeah. I might as well, no?
So, you've got a brisket
and a Black Bear with
nuggets and fries. Okay?
This is very good,
and what's even better is
the fries are amazing.
My burger was absolutely great.
It was, like,
melt in the mouth.
The food's amazing.
That's definitely one of
the best burgers I've had.
There's no doubt in my mind
that Black Bear does
amazing burgers.
The thing is, the offering
is very simple.
Now, it's enough for a street
stall, but is it enough
for a restaurant?
[narrator] At Naked Dough...
Of course, yeah.
Thanks so much,
and used very well. Great.
[narrator]
Word spread about their
half-price offer.
[Fred]
So, you got busy just now?
-Yeah, it's brilliant.
-Yeah, it did.
So is the till ringing?
The till is ringing away.
It's good.
This more what we're
used to, so it's great.
[Fred]
How's everything?
Do you like it?
It's sweet,
but yeah, very nice.
[Fred]
Is it too sweet?
-No, no, it's not.
-No such thing as too sweet.
I had the salted caramel one,
and it was perfect.
How often would you come back?
-Every day.
-[Fred] Every day? Wow,
you've got a sweet tooth.
Both restaurants
found last night difficult,
but today is going to be
even more difficult.
The investors
are coming in for lunch.
Their first bite
of their food is everything.
Get it right,
and they could well
fall in love with the business.
Get it wrong,
and they might
just walk away.
[narrator]
At Black Bear Burger,
Liz and Stew
have given up their jobs
as a burns nurse
and an oil trader to pursue
their restaurant dream.
-Our families weren't that
impressed at first, were they?
-No.
Especially, I think, 'cause
he'd done really well
at university, got first class,
so they, kind of, had really
high hopes for him.
Then when he was suddenly
like, "Actually, I'm going to
quit my job and flip burgers,"
uh, they were a little bit
concerned.
It is scary.
But we're going to give it
our best shot,
and hopefully
get an investment
at the end of it.
-Morning.
-[Liz] Morning.
-So, big day today.
-Yeah.
Two big investors
are coming in.
Tim Gee from Allied London
and Scott Collins.
Well,
he's Mr. Burger himself.
He's the man
behind MEATliquor.
-Have you heard about
MEATliquor?
-Yeah.
How do you feel about him
coming in and telling you
what he thinks
about your burger?
We are nervous, aren't we?
-There's nowhere to hide.
-There's nowhere to hide.
He knows a burger.
You think your burger is
better than the one
of MEATliquor?
-What you gotta say now?
-[both laughing]
-It's very different.
-You always think your
burger is the best.
Yeah, well, listen,
good luck today.
-Enjoy it, if you can.
-We'll try.
-[Fred] See you later.
-Thanks, Fred.
See you. Bye.
[narrator]
Over the next two days,
the investors will test
the restaurants'
business plans and service.
But today's private lunch,
is all about the food.
-We can do this, two burgers.
-I know.
[narrator] First to arrive,
Scott Collins of burger group
MEATliquor.
He's looking for a potential
diffusion brand.
I'm constantly evolving
as a business person,
I've seen a recent trend
in much larger meat brands
who are invested in smaller
start-up, independent
versions in the same
marketplace.
And Black Bear Burger,
they're starting up,
they're small,
they're in the same industry...
It's perfectly feasible
that I could run
a second burger company
alongside MEATliquor.
[narrator] His competition
is Tim Gee.
He works for a major
property developer
and is after new food brands.
[Tim] From an investor's
perspective,
you do start to question
whether the market's
over-saturated for burgers.
But there's always room for
a standout product.
I mean, there's a heck of
a lot of pizza and pasta
in Italy,
but you still open successful
pizza and pasta restaurants.
-[Liz] Hello.
-Hi. Tim
Hi, nice to meet you,
I'm Liz.
-Scott.
-Nice to meet you.
How 's it going?
Welcome to Black Bear Burger.
-Thank you very much.
-Come in. I'll take you
to your seats.
So, we've got some menus
for you.
-Thanks.
-Very simple.
[narrator]
The lunch offer today...
Just two drinks,
two burgers,
and two sides.
Good, succinct menu.
Yeah.
I'm going to have a proper
pig out and go for
-the Double-Out Black Bear,
nuggets, and fries, please.
-Nice. Good choice.
What would you go for?
I mean there's only a choice
of two...
-Well,
try the Classic Black Bear.
-All right.
-See how you get on
with the Black Bear first.
-Sounds like a plan.
[Liz] All right, cool.
Thank you, guys.
To present a burger well,
it's not necessarily
very easy at all.
And you can tell a lot from
about how it's going to
taste by looking at it.
So I want it to look great.
[whispers]
Look at that!
[Jen]
So should we put the milk
on the table, then?
[narrator]
Opposite Black Bear Burger,
Hannah and Jen have staked
everything to build their
cookie-dough empire.
Should we give them
a little menu each?
All our savings are gone now.
We've put friendships on hold,
we've put relationships
on hold.
Hannah's quit her job.
-Naked Dough is...
It's fair to say it's our life.
-Yeah, it's our life.
[narrator]
Jamie Barber, of top
London restaurant, Hache,
and two successful restaurant
chains, is first to arrive.
[Jamie]
There is nobody
that's really taking on
that instantaneous,
concession-based
sweet treats in cinemas
and retail environments
and shopping centers,
so this could be it.
If the model stacks up,
if the product is fantastic,
300 Naked Doughs,
each turning over
at £700,000 a year,
that's £1,900 million worth
of turnover.
That is a massive business.
[narrator]
Next, Shruti Ajitsaria,
a private investor
with a track record
in backing
successful restaurants.
It's really interesting that
I have never come across
a cookie-dough
provider before.
I think it's a new idea,
unique idea, but what I do
like about it is that it's not
a seasonal product,
so it's not like ice-cream,
where you only need it
to be sunny.
I think there will always
be a space in the market
for things
that are naughty treats,
and that's what this is.
[narrator] Finally,
Chris Miller,
founder
of the multi-million pound
White Rabbit Investment Fund.
The economics for each site
could be very exciting.
You don't need a very
expensive fit-out, you don't
need an expensive kitchen
which means you don't have
huge rents to pay...
Because of all of that,
it's something you can grow
quite quickly.
-Hello.
-Hi.
-Hello.
-It's so nice to meet you,
Shruti.
-Nice to meet you.
-Welcome to Naked Dough.
-Welcome to Naked Dough.
-Have a look
at the Cookie Dough.
[Jamie] Are you excited?
[Hannah] Yeah, very excited.
Would you like to have
a sort of...
A little mini-menu each?
-Perfect.
-Thank you.
What's your best-selling
flavor?
So, I would say Emoji Poos,
that, obviously,
nobody likes to say
the name of out loud,
um, and the Hazel's Nuts.
[Chris] Do they need
to be kept cold?
[Jen] So, it can last
up to four hours completely,
safely out of the fridge,
but then you can then take
it home, refrigerate it,
you can even put it
in the freezer, as well.
What would you guys
like to try?
-I'd like to try the salted
caramel one.
-[Jen] Yeah, definitely.
-May I try
the cookies 'n cream?
-Hazelnut, please.
Can you bake it as well?
When we took out the egg,
we took out the raising
agent.
-So it's warm-able,
just not bake-able.
-Right.
And can I have
the peanut butter
and the toffee apple?
You get a very, very
sugary hit as soon as you
eat the first mouthful.
-Well, I mean, it's very
tasty, but it's like... Whoa!
-[Jen] Yeah.
[Shruti] Right.
Question on health...
-How healthy do you feel?
-Yeah.
[laughs] Exactly.
How ginormous is
this going to make me?
-You know.
What is the calorie...
-Calorie content?
I don't know
the exact calorie content.
I think people see it as
an indulgent treat.
It's about having a sneaky,
sweet treat.
Wow!
That's delicious.
Good beef.
[Tim]
You're eating a beef burger.
It's beef.
I want it to have flavor.
And, yeah, that's getting
down to that...
Eating, and how many napkins
I'm going to end up
piling up.
That's the sign
of a good burger,
is when you've got
piles of used napkins,
cause you've had to keep,
yeah, wiping your hands.
I see nodding heads,
so, hopefully,
that's a good thing.
That's very, very good.
I come across a lot
of shit burgers.
That's a really,
really good burger.
You're all in, aren't you?
[Scott]
It's very easy to judge
a burger.
You get a piece of every
ingredient in the first
mouthful.
It's got to be balanced,
it's got to be special.
It can't be average.
Do you wanna grab a beer
and join us for a chat?
[Liz] Yeah,
that would be great.
-That's a bit more relaxed,
isn't it?
-Yeah.
[all laughing]
So how many covers
did you do last night?
-About 61.
-About 60.
Yeah, which, honestly,
we're used to doing.
that in Boxpark.
More.
But's a very, very different
way of serving people.
Did you give knives and
forks at Boxpark?
-No.
-Then don't do it
here tomorrow.
We haven't used them.
-Oh, yeah.
-It'd be less work for you.
That's probably the only
nugget of good advice
I've got.
-May have peaked too early.
-[Liz] That's not bad.
[laughs]
[Tim] It was,
it was delicious.
Um, the burger lived up
to expectations.
It was a really, really,
really great burger.
-Thank you very much.
-[Liz] No worries.
You can relax now.
[Tim] Probably a bit of
a concern in terms of the
limited menu and the focus.
If you lived here, over the
course of a year, how many
of those burgers could you eat?
[both laughing]
I wanna see
how easy it is to do.
Will you be the timer?
Sure.
[narrator]
Time to put
Naked Dough to the test.
Like any successful
fast food business,
speed of service is key.
-Hello.
-Welcome to Naked Dough.
Hi, so my friend
told me about this.
I don't really
understand the concept.
What is it?
-We have raw cookie dough...
-Okay.
In several different,
delicious flavors.
-Two flavors in a tub.
-I would like a scoop of that,
please.
-Yes.
-And which is the other one
that you recommend?
Um, this one.
-I'll have a sprinkle.
-Okay.
-Like that? Like that?
-Yeah, perfect. Perfect.
-Thank you so much.
-Perfect.
-How long was that, roughly?
-Two minutes ten.
Two minutes a serve...
Means that one person can do
thirty portions an hour.
So if your average transaction
value is, let's call it,
three pounds,
for the sake of argument,
then that means the maximum
one person can do
is going to be £90 an hour.
So, that just gives you an
idea in terms of what the
maximum turnover
that you could do
per server, per hour.
Talking people
through the process,
does slow down sales.
That said, the first time you
talked me through it,
it takes some time,
but then after that,
they actually know
what they're coming in for
and it starts to be
a lot quicker.
But what would be really
good is if you had
pre-made tubs with
the little watermelon
scoopy-sized,
the watermelon baller-sizes,
so if somebody wanted to come
in just to get a selection
of flavors,
that's a very quick thing
for them to get.
I think that this is
a problem.
Okay.
The fact that we've hardly made
a dent into any of them,
is that not a worry?
It's something
that we fully acknowledge.
I take it that it's not that
you didn't enjoy the flavor,
it's just too much.
Yeah, it's like the first
couple of spoonfuls
are blissful...
-Yeah.
-And then, it becomes
quite hard going.
I thought it was a really,
really lovely experience
I thought the branding
was great.
I thought they were brilliant.
I thought the first taste
was absolutely delicious.
Really tasty.
It had exactly the consistency
of cookie-dough,
which I love.
It was actually more the second
bite that started to make me
feel like my mouth was
was sticking together,
and it was very, very sweet.
And I'm not sure whether
people would return
for that product.
-Thank you so much, guys. Bye.
-Bye. Thank you.
-See you later.
-Product, I think,
is half there.
[Jen] Bye.
[Hannah] Bye.
[Jamie]
And I want to understand
whether customers
who fit the target demographic
really respond to it
in a positive way.
I think that's really
going to dictate, to me,
whether or not
it's a viable investment.
-How lovely are they?
-Really nice.
At the moment, it feels like
it could be a little bit
of a, liitle bit of a fad
and novelty that I...
I would absolutely buy
to try it out,
'cause it looks great and
tastes great
for the first bit,
but would I buy it again?
Probably not.
In reality now,
it's given me more questions
than answers
before this turns into
an investable opportunity.
[narrator] Tomorrow lunchtime,
the investors will return to
see how the restaurants cope
when they're full
of paying customers.
But today isn't over.
Jen and Hannah and
Stew and Liz now face a
grueling business meeting.
And one investor has already
made up their mind.
[Fred] So, Scott, what do you
think of Black Bear Burger?
Their passion, their
enthusiasm, it was all there.
It was great.
They do what we do.
We sort our products really
well. We put a lot of
attention to detail.
But I was hoping there'd be
some little point of
difference that would...
Would make it a bit
more exciting.
Some little Midas touch.
But do you think that two
burger brands, like yours
and theirs,
could co-exist side by side?
Yeah, the burger market's big.
Um, we don't do
just burgers.
I think they're looking to
expand their menu a little
bit further down the line,
but right now, they just
didn't have that... sort of
missing X-factor.
So are you still having your
business meeting with
them later on?
Having been through this
process myself,
in the past, with businesses,
the last thing I'd want is to
waste anybody's time
or give them false hope.
No, I think fair play.
-How are you?
-Yes, good. How are you?
-Good, thank you very much.
-Good.
I've got a bit of bad news
to announce to you.
-Okay.
-Scott Collins has decided
to pull out.
How come?
What's...
-Um, he loved the burger.
He thought it was fantastic.
-Thanks.
Just, for him, there wasn't
enough in it to justify
an investment.
-Tim Gee is still in the
running...
-[Liz and Stew] Yeah.
And he wants to talk to you
later on about your
business plan.
-[Liz] Okay.
-So, um, you're still
in the race.
We'll give it our best shot.
-All our eggs are in one
basket now, so, yeah.
-Okay.
-Good luck, guys. Good luck.
-Thank you very much.
See ya.
What you think about that,
then?
-I think it was--
-I was a bit surprised.
-Yeah.
-Yeah, still got one more.
-One more chance,
see how it goes.
-Yeah.
[narrator] Both restaurants
will now have one hour
with each remaining investor
to go through their finances
and plans for the future.
Naked Dough are up first.
And as all three investors
are in competition
with each other,
they'll each have an hour
alone with Jen and Hannah.
A really good
restaurant investment
might have what's called
a return on investment,
or return on capital
of somewhere between
25 and 35,
or even 40 percent.
Now, what that means is,
if I invest £100,000,
I should get that money back
over three years.
They're saying that they're
going to get their money back
in three months,
not three years,
so I think we really need
to probe and see whether
those numbers do stack up.
Hi, again.
[Shruti]
I love backing other female
entrepreneurs,
so I'm really pleased
to see two women
who have done such
a lot in a short period
of time.
I think if I had the confidence
they we're going to make
that product right,
I definitely like them enough
to go into business with them.
-Hello.
-Hi, how you're doing?
[Chris]
There's definitely a potential
for investment still.
I need to see their financials
and properly understand
what's going on there.
[narrator] Up 'til now,
Naked Dough has only traded
at London's Old Street.
Jen and Hannah want £250,000
to take it nationwide.
I really love cookie dough.
Like, I'm the person, that in
the Ben & Jerry's ice-cream,
eats the cookie dough.
But even I could not have
finished a pot of that.
I mean that is my major
concern with it, really.
You know,
every pot came with a lid.
And you know, if
you decide to eat it
then and there,
then great,
and if you decide to take
it home...
I think very few people
are going to think,
"I'll eat a little bit here
and I'll take it home."
I just, that doesn't
make sense to me.
[Jamie] Now is where
the nitty-gritty starts.
So you've had June, July,
August, September and
October at the Old Street.
-Yeah.
-So run me through
the turnover in those months.
So the first month was,
I think, nearly 48,000...
48,000.
-So 48,000 in June.
-Mmm-hmm.
-And then July?
-[Jen] Um, 40, nearly 43,000.
-And in August?
-Was 36,000.
[Jamie] Yep.
-28,000 in September.
-Yeah, yeah.
And then it went to 23
in October.
That's not a building revenue
stream, that's a declining
revenue stream.
The facts are, in six months,
the turnover is half from
where it was when it started.
Now, that decline is very,
very scary,
and if those are the only facts
you got to look at, you got
to take them very seriously.
So I'm worried.
He did grill us
on the numbers.
It's a shame that
we don't have more than
five months worth of data,
because I think we were always
gonna start with the traction
that we had.
It was always going to start
off on a ridiculous high.
We realize that Old Street
hasn't been the best location
to hit our target market,
so we did see that drop.
I think you're absolutely
right on the location.
It's not right for you.
I totally understand why
you've had this big jump
at the start, and then
quite a dramatic fall off.
The question is
where does that end,
and will that be repeated
for other sites?
It's one that I'm genuinely
tempted to buy
because it's such a lovely
business model.
They'll open a good few sites.
The problem is,
with those places,
is you'll open with a big bang
and soon as your sales drop
off,
they kick you out very
quickly.
How difficult is it for
somebody else to come
in with a cookie-dough brand?
Not difficult.
It could be replicated.
Which is why we
need to act quickly.
[narrator] During the meeting,
the investors can choose to
spell out the offer
they'll make
if, and only if,
they decide
to invest tomorrow.
Right now, I have no idea
what an offer will be,
because I need to go away
and understand the numbers.
Will it become like
Krispy Kreme donuts
or Millie's Cookies?
Or will it be
just another fad?
It's definitely one
that would be
a roll of the dice.
Need to sleep on it
and look at some numbers
in the morning.
-Thank you.
-[Chris] Thanks very much.
Thank you so much.
Very nice to meet you.
He seems so well-versed
in exactly how this
would work.
He has...
I get the impression
that he...
He would know exactly how
to scale this.
So actually, I think, what
would be really interesting
for me
to do tomorrow,
is to talk to the customers.
That's the piece that's going
to be really interesting
for me tomorrow,
is finding out
what other people think.
I understand how I think,
but l just want to see
what others think.
Obviously, I've got my own
perspective on whether or not
I would eat an entire
two scoops of cookie dough,
but it would be interesting
to hear what other people say.
I think, if they can't shape
their product
in a way that will
make people go back
to have it again and
again and again, then...
Then it's not going to work
as business.
-Thank you very much.
-Nice to see you.
[Jen] She had really good
constructive criticism
for us.
She felt very strongly
about the product offering
not being right.
We need to discuss that,
whether we'd be willing to...
To change it.
I'm not necessarily the
target demographic,
which is why I'd like to see
how the demographic
that you really are after
responds to it.
I think that they've got
the genesis of a good idea.
I think they've got a product
which they know,
is not perfect.
I want to see
how the general public
respond to it.
So tomorrow's the day.
Thank you very much and
look forward to tomorrow.
-Thank you very much.
Nice to see you.
-And you.
I have faith in the people
that are coming tomorrow.
I think, fingers crossed,
they do us proud
and they like the product
and they give good feedback
to the investors.
It's not really in our hands.
It's in theirs.
[narrator] Now,
it's Black Bear Burger's turn.
With Scott Collins
no longer in the running,
Liz and Stew's only hope
of investment lies
with property developer,
Tim Gee.
[Tim] The sites that
we're offering are
very prominent, very public,
and would be the first choice
of any restaurant operator.
Hello.
How's it going?
[Tim] I want to probe them
a bit more,
what they think the next
steps are going to be,
and, you know,
just get a scale
of their ambition and ability
before you can ever make
a consideration as to whether
you want to invest or not.
[narrator] For the past month,
Liz and Stew have traded as
a pop-up in London's Boxpark.
Now, they want
£200,000 to become
a full-time restaurant.
[Tim] I wanted to start
by talking about the menu,
because you've got a couple
of sample menus.
The one that you presented
today, is that what
you're currently offering?
The menu we're offering
today is just the one
we've tried at Boxpark.
Um, but, the other burgers
on the menu we have
tested as well,
and it's just something
that we want to have
in our restaurant.
We never wanna have
a massive menu.
We always want to, kind of,
keep it fairly simple.
[Tim] It's so key to have
a good, cohesive menu
that's going to
not ruin the opportunity
of groups to visit.
You're not going to have
that one person going,
'There's nothing for me."
Um, and to do it well.
I'd like to move on to,
what is this restaurant going
to look like in you mind?
I think, kind of our vision
for, maybe, the first site
would be fairly small.
Like, 30, 40 seats.
-Similar to where you are?
-Yeah, similar to there.
We won't be looking
at opening, straight off
the bat, like a...
150-seater restaurant.
'Cause we kinda wanna always
keep that small,
independent feel,
and we think that's the way
the, kind of, burger market
is going anyway.
[narrator]
The meeting's almost over.
Now, Tim has to decide
whether he's ready to
discuss a potential offer.
Where's the dream?
You know, it'd be nice to have
maybe one in London or two,
and then kind of
branch out to other cities,
Before Boxpark, we were
looking at potential
restaurant sites in London,
and to get into a site,
you have to have
upfront of 100k...
-Yeah.
-Or more.
There's still such a barrier
to entry for us.
The reality is,
maybe the first site
needs to be located
where that's
not such a challenge.
-[Liz] Yeah.
-It can be an enormous amount
of money.
As of today, they're not ready
to step straight into
a restaurant, in my opinion.
It's crucial to see
that they're able
to translate their passion
and great food into a team
and a public environment.
-[Tim] Really good...
-Yeah.
-To meet you.
-Yeah, yeah.
They've got a lot to prove
to me tomorrow.
Tomorrow it's really important
for us just to demonstrate
that we're capable of
doing this.
Take this concept
and roll it to, um,
into more sites.
The two restaurants
are in with a chance
of a life-changing investment.
But the investors
have serious questions
about both ideas.
Today's final service for the
paying public will be what
makes up their mind.
Right now, everything
hangs in the balance.
[narrator] And with no offers
on the table for either
restaurant,
it all comes down to today,
to convince the investors.
-So what would you like
to try?
-[man] Mud Bath.
Mud Bath? Yeah.
So we're giving away
50 free pots to the first
customers at 1:00 p.m. today.
[narrator] At Naked Dough,
Jen and Hannah are taking
to the streets of Manchester
to drum up
a full lunchtime service.
[Hannah]
So this is Salted Caramel
and Mud Bath.
[Jen] If you guys are free
at 1:00 p.m. for a bit
of cookie-dough sampling...
So you've got Nutella
and Kinder Bueno
and Salted Caramel
with Honeycomb.
-How's it going?
-It's good.
-Yeah?
-Yeah.
[Jen] People are giving good
feedback, and I think
we're getting some good buzz
for today's lunch service,
so, yeah.
-They like it when they try it?
-They do seem to like it
when they try it, so...
[Fred] Ah, let's see what
these two think.
-Do you want to try that?
-Would you guys like
to try some?
It's raw, edible cookie dough.
So just like you used
to have when you were a kid.
This is Oreo.
So it's vegan
cookies and cream.
Their response has been great,
um, and people seem to be
really keen to pop down.
If you guys have time,
pop down.
So we're really hoping
to have a buzz
in the shop today.
Do you like it? Are you guys
going to come buy it
at 1:00, 2:30?
-Yeah.
-Brilliant, thanks a lot.
Well done. That's good.
Yeah, it's brilliant.
[narrator] In 15 minutes,
both restaurants open for
business for the last time.
[Stew] Let's keep talking to
each other, make sure we're
going at the same pace, yeah?
We got it.
[Jen] There's a really
big queue!
[Hannah] Is there?
Yay! Welcome to Naked Dough!
-Hi, guys!
-Oh, so exciting!
[man]
We're going to have
an amazing day today.
Nice and busy.
Look at the queue.
Big smiles.
Do you need any help
deciding?
One Black Bear, one brisket.
-Yeah.
-And I got some fries,
all right?
Do you guys know,
you get two scoops per pot?
So you can, kind of,
mix and match
whichever ones you like.
[Jen] Enjoy! Thank you.
[Hannah] Feel free to draw on
the tables.
[Hannah] Get creative.
[Jen] Enjoy! Have a seat.
[narrator] Jamie Barber
and Shruti Ajitsaria
are the first to arrive at
Naked Dough.
[Jen] Hi, guys, welcome!
I'm still here because
the idea of it is genius.
At the end of the day,
I am not the demographic.
The demographic
that likes this product
is female, 18 to 25-year-olds.
So I can't be swayed too
much by own impression.
What I want to see is what
that generation thinks
about the product.
And then I might have
a different view.
I'm really looking forward
to seeing how
the user experience goes,
so how they make
the consumers feel special.
And I'm also really interested
to speak to the people
eating it
to understand, for myself,
whether they think
the portions are too big
and whether they would return.
-So, um...
-There's no Chris.
-[Fred] Chris. How are you?
-How are you, Fred?
-Good, thank you. Very good.
-Good.
So tell me, what do you
think about Naked Dough?
Something's been bothering
me about the business.
So I then had a look
at their financials
in a bit more detail,
and what that
shows to me is,
people are excited
to try it,
but they don't come back.
-Right.
-And if you don't have
repeat custom...
You very quickly
don't have a business.
It's a nice, exciting brand
but, for me,
it's too high-risk.
Well, if you don't think it's
worth your money, there's
nothing you can do.
-You gotta go.
-Exactly.
-All right, well,
thank you very much, Chris.
-Thanks a lot.
-Have a good day. Take care.
-Thank you.
[Hannah] It seems like Chris
hasn't turned up.
He asked for our financials
last night, which I
sent over to him,
and, uh, potentially, he didn't
see what he, you know,
he didn't feel comfortable
with it, he maybe thought
it was too much of a risk,
which is fair enough.
There are two investors
still in the shop,
so there's still a chance
we might get the investment.
[narrator]
At Black Bear Burger,
their only hope of investment
lies with Tim Gee.
[Tim]
Today is very, very important.
It's very, very different,
serving burgers
to two investors
,in a quiet environment
to flipping the tables on
a 30-seat restaurant.
Probably for
the first time ever,
because they have been,
historically, a street
food operator.
Out of the food truck,
into a property.
Um, that's why we're here.
Can you do this?
How hungry are you?
-I'm quite hungry.
So I'm thinking--
-Why don't you get...
Black Bear and nuggets?
Let's give it a shot, yeah?
Okay, I'll get on from here.
All right, here you go, guys,
a Black Bear and fries.
What are you going to go for?
Chicken nuggets?
-Chicken nuggets.
-[Liz] Yeah?
Chicken nuggets, brisket...
[Tim] There's a good,
good mix of people here.
I'm interested,
there's a family come in
and it's a great buzz.
[Liz] I'm actually
really enjoying it today.
I know what I'm doing.
The other night,
on our soft launch,
I was even finding it
difficult to, like, smile,
talk to people,
'cause I was so anxious
and nervous, and I
wasn't really being myself.
Well, now I'm able to
talk to the customers and
provide a really good service.
-Here you go. All right?
-Good man.
It does look good.
What'd you think?
-It is very nice.
-It is very good, yeah.
Don't think I could
eat the whole thing,
to be quite honest.
They said we could take
it home, though.
-Because freezer.
-I've probably had enough.
-No, I've demolished it.
-You've demolished it.
-I loved it.
-So, you're a big fan.
Perfect.
-Have you had it before
anywhere?
-[man] No, no.
-No, first time.
-Really rich, isn't it?
How do you feel about
the portion?
Do you think you're going
to be able to finish that?
Um, probably not.
-At one go, we got two scoops.
-One scoop would've been...
I do really enjoy it.
I don't feel worried
with the investors
speaking to customers.
Um, I want them to be honest.
We can't improve as a business
without some critical
feedback.
Do you find it super sweet?
It's just perfect for me.
I used to, I used to sit
at home and eat raw
cookie-dough, anyway.
-Right.
-Can I ask how you're getting
on with it?
I think, for me,
one scoop
would be enough.
Generally speaking,
people like the branding.
Generally speaking, people
like the product,
but, mostly, in small doses.
And I think that's
going to be the real issue.
A very, very small proportion
were able to finish an
entire tub of cookie dough.
[man]
It's tasty, but too sweet.
-Yeah, too much.
-[Shruti] Too much?
On a positive note,
there was a lot of demand
for people to try
lots of different flavors.
It was definitely
a fun product.
People wanted
to take photos of it.
People wanted to share it.
People wanted to say
that they've been.
And I think if they can
match the product
to that Instagram ability,
they might have the kernel of
something really, really sexy.
-Thank you.
-Thank you so much.
I think they need to figure out
how they're going to sell
smaller portions,
while still being able
to charge enough
to make this a viable business.
So, I'm gonna go away now,
I'm gonna have a coffee,
I'm gonna have a really,
really good think,
I'm going to make a list
in my own head, just to
the things I love about it,
and there are a lot,
and things
I'm not sure about,
and then I'm gonna have a
sense of what I'm going to
do next.
Got the Black Bear
with nuggets and fries.
Fabulous.
The food was as good
as it was yesterday.
You know,
it was great yesterday,
I want very consistent.
Visually, the taste,
perfectly cooked.
Exactly the same.
And the service, Liz,
she's good.
The question for us is,
can we take this fantastic
street-food operation,
and turn it
into a successful restaurant
that is just as good
as they are at street-food
from day one?
That was wicked.
All right,
let's get out of here.
Come on, guys.
-[exclaims indistinctly]
-[laughs]
[narrator] Lunch is over.
Now the pressure is on
the investors.
They have to decide whether
the ideas are worth
their money.
-How are you, girls?
-Good, thank you.
-Good, Fred.
-So...
The investors have been
given a deadline.
-Okay.
-They have one hour to come
back and make you an offer.
-Okay.
-If they're back in that hour,
it's game on.
If they're not,
then it's game over.
How do you feel about that?
It's a long time to wait.
[narrator]
Jen and Hannah came
looking for £250,000.
Jamie Barber
and Shruti Ajitsaria
are both still interested.
If they're to make an
investment,
they have until 6:30 p.m.
to return to the restaurant.
-This is what it comes
down to.
-[Hannah] Yes.
-Oh, you've done great.
-Thank you.
You went out there,
drummed up the business,
got people to learn
about your product.
-I really enjoyed today.
-Yeah, today was good.
How long is it?
[Fred] We've got another
15 minutes.
-Another 15 minutes.
-Yeah.
We still believe
in the product.
We're not gonna stop.
We still think Naked Dough
is going to be a big brand.
That's true.
-Girls. The time is up.
-Time.
-Okay.
-[Fred] They're not coming.
Okay.
I'm sorry.
I'm gutted for you,
but in the same time,
you know, maybe
it wasn't the right fit.
Maybe.
[Jamie] I think these guys
have been fantastic.
I rate them as entrepreneurs.
I think they are hungry,
I think they will overcome odds
and get to where they need to.
But I think, they're
probably six months
too early,
because all we've got at
the moment is pure data,
and the pure data is
they've got one store
which has got six months
of month-on-month
declining sales.
And they've got an idea,
and that idea
is not perfected yet,
and, unfortunately,
in this case,
the investment
just doesn't stack up.
[Shruti] I actually thought
the branding looked beautiful
and I thought it was
a really exciting concept.
I really liked them and I
really wanted to like
the business, actually.
As much as I
wanted to love the product,
unfortunately I didn't,
and so, for me, that means
I can't invest.
[Jen] I feel gutted.
We put our heart and soul
into everything that we do.
At the same time,
it's been a really good
learning curve.
-Yeah.
-Um...
[Hannah] And we really
appreciate all the advice
and thoughts and opinions
that people have had
on our business.
I still think we've got a good
thing going.
Yeah.
-C'est la vie, Fred.
-C'est la vie.
[narrator]
At Black Bear Burger,
Stew and Liz
came looking for £200,000.
Tim Gee has until 8:00 p.m.
to walk through the door.
Only ten minutes.
20 minutes to go.
[chuckles nervously]
Where's your head at right now?
We'll just have to wait
and see.
How long we got?
Six.
Six minutes.
Guys.
The time is up.
Time's up?
It's kind of been...
The whole experience is...
It's been a big learning
curve, but it's actually...
Shown ourselves
that we can actually
run a restaurant service.
We're gonna draw
on the experiences
that we've had here
and, uh, you know, really,
kind of, set up a
successful restaurant from it.
We've done it on our
own up 'til this point,
so we're going to continue
doing that.
[Tim] Unfortunately, we won't
be pursuing our interest
in Black Bear.
There's no denying
that, currently,
their menu is limited.
You know, we would need
to see more development
on that front
and just a general confidence
that they're able to run
a business
and not just a street
food pop up.
There is a sense of regret.
I looked at the business plan.
I ate the burger.
I met the people.
It was all,
it was all wonderful.
Um, but, you know, it's
got to be a perfect marriage
isn't it?
And we're just not there.
We don't often give ourselves
a lot of praise and a pat
on the back,
but I think
going through this together,
has made us a lot stronger,
um, and I think it's
been a really, really,
positive experience for us.
[Fred] What do you need to do
to secure an investment?
Naked Dough and Black
Bear Burger worked so hard
at this,
and yet it wasn't enough.
This is a tough business
and I wish them every success.