Thursday 21/06/2018

Million Pound Menu (BBC2, 9pm)

If a picture is worth a thousand words, then the moment Fred Sirieix turned up on Celebrity Juice a few months ago was worthy of a novel. Gino D'Acampo was far from happy to see he had been teamed with the First Dates star for a live edition of the ITV2 show in March.

That 'awkward moment' was actually just the old mates sparring for the cameras, like they did with Gordon Ramsay for Gordon, Gino and Fred's Great Christmas Roast - one of the highlights of the festive period last year.

There's no sign of the other celeb chefs in the last of this series, which is good news for Fred as he gets to dominate the limelight while passing judgement on two more food brands whose owners are seeking investment.

One is Naked Dough. Operating as a pop-up in London, it serves a vegan-friendly dough developed by pastry chef and co-founder Jen. They now want £250,000 to open their own shop.

The company, which was set up 12 months ago, traded as a pop-up at London's Old Street station. Jen and Hannah gave up their jobs to launch the idea after Jen re-trained as a pastry chef and developed basic recipes for raw dough, including some vegan-friendly flavours.

These include Nak-Ed Sheeran (salted caramel and honeycomb), and Nuttin' Better (peanut butter, nibbled peanuts). The duo have valued their business at more than £2million.

Looking for an investment of £250,000, the company has attracted a lot of interest. Three investors want to see it in action: Shruti Ajitsaria, who manages a portfolio of private investments, Jamie Barber, who has owned and operated many restaurant brands in the UK, and Chris Miller of White Rabbit Fund.

Cameras also focus on premium burger stall Black Bear Burger. It has allowed husband and wife Liz and Stew to leave their jobs and focus full-time on the business which is based at Boxpark, Shoreditch.

Now they want to take the next step, but they need investment if they are to open a proper outlet and get a slice of the £3.3billion burger market.

Fred will be meeting the teams and follows their pitches.

Given the amount of cooking shows on the box compared to 20 years ago, it's safe to say that we as a nation take our food pretty seriously, whether demanding a wider choice for vegetarians and vegans, or wanting a burger on the high street that tastes better than something we can make at home.

And while food is a large part of a business's success story, customer service is crucial if a company is to thrive. Fred believes that restaurant-owners should never leave a customer alone with their thoughts.

"This is why your customer journey should be there to establish trust every step of the way," he explains. "Trust in business is the basis of loyalty, and this is why every single one of your touch points must inspire that trust."

Hopefully both 'first dates' with respective investors will lead to a happy ever after for Naked Dough and Black Bear Burger.

Supershoppers (C4, 8pm)

Anna Richardson and Sabrina Grant present another selection of consumer reports and money-saving tips. They reveal how to save serious cash when shopping online with some of the biggest names in fashion and retail, have another great tip on getting the lowest prices on energy bills and try out a product that is designed to help a child sleep. Plus, everything there is to know about whitening toothpastes, a comparison of takeaway coffees and the latest trends to be found in the supermarket aisle.

The Double Life of George Michael (C5, 9pm)

When George Michael burst into living rooms via Top of the Pops in the early 1980s, he was a revelation. Unlike many acts of the era who had a hard time trying to look interested while miming to the wrong camera, the Wham! star was so professional, it seemed like he'd been in the business for years. George looked great, sounded incredible and could pen songs which left teenage fans weak at the knees. Behind the scenes of course George was a different person. This documentary examines the pop star's troubled final years before the shock news arrived that he'd passed away on Christmas Day in 2016. It examines the contrast between his inner demons and his beloved public persona during four decades of chart success.

The Murder of Rhys Jones: Police Tapes (ITV, 9pm)

It should have been just another Wednesday night in 2007 as Liverpool mum Melanie Jones carried out a spot of wallpapering. Then she discovered her 11-year-old son Rhys had been shot while on the way home from football practice, and nothing was ever the same again. The story was dramatised as acclaimed TV drama Little Boy Blue, and now there's a chance to see what really happened. Police were left with a seemingly impenetrable case. However, during investigations, certain names repeatedly cropped up, so the authorities planted secret bugs in the homes of these gang members. Susanna Reid gains access to the subsequent recordings, where those responsible admit their part and the lengths they would go to cover up the crime. Rhys's parents, Mel and Steve, also discuss the impact of this shocking crime.