Raymond Blanc

Chef Raymond Blanc invites viewers to take a glimpse behind the scenes at some of the gardens and kitchens in the nation's most spectacular royal palaces, as he cooks alongside their chefs and gardeners.

The chef shares a collection of simple, rustic recipes that can be put together easily, as well as revealing the workings of the world-famous Le Manoir aux Quat'Saisons where he is Chef Patron and which provides much of the fruit and vegetables that go into his dishes.

Michelin-starred chef Raymond Blanc and presenter Kate Humble have been given the unique opportunity to spend a year at the famous botanical gardens at Kew, to re-establish the long-lost kitchen gardens that once provided produce for the royal table - from George II to Queen Victoria.

Raymond Blanc believes becoming a good cook is all about mastering the basic techniques. Raymond taught himself to be a Michelin star chef. But first, he had to understand what happens to food when you cook it different ways. Once you know what is happening when you roast, fry, poach etc then you can cook anything. After forty years of trial and error, Raymond wants to share what he has learnt. Each week he takes a different technique and shows five delicious dishes using that technique. The recipes range from simple to ambitious and Raymond delivers it all in his easy, warm, inimitable way.

In the show Raymond Blanc puts nine couples through their paces to see if they have what it takes to run their own restaurant. More than 1,000 new restaurants open every year in Britain; unfortunately, approximately 50% close within two years. The Restaurant features couples, some of whom have little or no experience other than cooking at home and throwing dinner parties, but whose dream is to run their own eatery. They have to create their perfect restaurant and then open the doors to the paying public. Their first crucial decision - who will take on the kitchen and who is best equipped to run the front of house? It's a dream that many couples have entertained. Secretly perhaps we all think we could run a restaurant. It's so simple. Lots of us can cook. We have all been to restaurants. We all think we know what people like to eat. If only we had the money and the opportunity.