ON-THE-UP restaurant chain Little Chef is hoping to open more restaurants in the North-East and North Yorkshire.

The company’s chief executive, Ian Pegler, said he would like to have more than the seven restaurants presently in the region, should the right sites become available.

Mr Pegler, who was born in South Shields, South Tyneside, has been credited with restoring the fortunes of the chain after it went into administration two years ago under a previous owner.

He ran the chain before leaving in 1994, and was reappointed by new owner RCapital, in March last year.

Its profile has been raised by its association with Michelin- starred chef Heston Blumenthal, with the menu he created to be introduced in the York restaurant in the next two weeks.

Speaking about the North- East, Mr Pegler said: “We don’t have as many as we would like in that area.

“We have just opened in Malton and we are looking for more sites in the North of England if we can find them.”

Mr Pegler did not believe competition from burger and sandwich chains at motorway services offering cheaper food had affected Little Chef ’s business.

He said: “We are not in the same marketplace. We are on A-roads, not motorways, and we believe people go on Aroads because they want a pleasant drive and to sit down and have a meal.

“We have not put the prices up in over a year, so we provide extremely good value and quality.”

He added: “I used to run the chain 15 years ago and nothing had evolved since. We have to catch up.”

An overhaul of the decor, to give it a more modern feel, has taken place at the York restaurant, alongside the updating of the menu by Mr Blumenthal.

Mr Blumenthal spent three months revising the menu in the Channel 4 series, Big Chef Takes On Little Chef.

The programme featured Anne England, who has worked at the Little Chef at Skeeby, near Richmond, for 20 years.

The menu was introduced at the chain’s Popham branch, near Winchester, last year, with dishes including braised ox cheeks, vegetable and beer casserole and a healthier Olympic breakfast.

But Mr Pegler added that, although Mr Blumenthal had designed a new menu, Little Chef had promoted healthy eating before his arrival.

He said: “Before Heston came along we put in lighter foods in, more salads. We had already started that process, but needed something a bit more radical.”