Two Essex chefs smash target to open Colchester restaurant

Two young chefs have reached their target of £10, 000 to open Grain in Essex which will serve affordable six-course menus with starter-sized plates.

Chef Jordon Sidwell and Paul Wendholt managed to raise £11, 290 from 167 backers to bring their dream to life.

They reached their target just under 24 hours before the end time and took to their Kickstarter page to thank the people of Colchester and other backers for their support.

On their Kickstarter page they wrote: “Just under 24 hours to go and we've smashed our target!! We can honestly say we never thought we'd make it this far, so to the people of Colchester, Essex, and some even further we thank you all for everything and can't wait to see each and every one of you at grain soon.”

To keep the meals affordable all courses will be priced as starters and will use the best local produce available.

Wanting to make their guests feel comfortable, the pair will not only cook the food but also serve it breaking down the divide between front of house and back of house.

The idea for Grain began three years ago when the pair decided they wanted to open a restaurant they would eat in serving top end food without any pretentiousness.

This is the latest project to use crowdfunding as a means to open a restaurant. Earlier this year Gary Usher used Kickstarter to open Hispi and Paul Foster reached his target to open Salt.