Les Saveurs

THE husband and wife team behind an Exmouth restaurant are competing to make it one of the best in the country as part of a new television on Thursday (june 14).

Michelin star-trained chef Olivier Guyard, 49, Sheila Guyard-Mulkerrin, 50, and their multi-award-winning eatery Les Saveurs in Tower Street, feature in Marco Pierre White’s new restaurant competition Kitchen Wars.

Broadcast on Channel Five, the new show is not just another reincarnation of rivals such as Masterchef, as it focuses on service and front of house as much as the quality of Olivier’s cuisine.

Tonight’s show sees Olivier and Sheila compete in Marco’s mobile “battle kitchen”, which travels around the UK auditioning hundreds of hopefuls desperate for a place in the competition.

Marco will ask the public to exercise their taste buds to help him find the victorious couple.

The victors will be chosen from couples who run restaurants the length and breadth of the UK – from cafes to curry houses, gastropubs and greasy spoons.

They are competing for a place in a specially designed studio restaurant, where three kitchens will feed three sets of diners – all at the same time.

In the heats Olivier prepared a dish of slow-poached Devonshire brill with pan-fried Jerusalem artichokes, chive mash and a local nettle sauce.

And while he is sworn to secrecy about the outcome of tonight’s show, he said: “He absolutely loved it.

“Marco said if he was a Michelin star inspector he would have had no hesitation in awarding us a Michelin star.

“I have been cooking since I was 10 and Marco has been my idol for years – he is a fantastic chef and one of the very best in Britain. To get the chance to cook for him was a fantastic experience. But I think my wife was taken out of her comfort zone!”

He added: “We participated in this competition to raise the profile of our restaurant and to enable local residents to know that they have a Michelin star-trained chef right here in their home town.

“We are the only restaurant with an AA rosette in Exmouth.”

● You can see if Olivier and Sheila impress Marco on Channel Five at 8pm.