BBC’s My Million Pound Menu winners set to open first restaurant

Pilgrim, the winners of BBC’s My Million Pound Menu are preparing to open a new restaurant in Liverpool’s Duke Street Market.

The restaurant will launch with a 50% off soft launch period from 15 May and is based on an ancient pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela in Galicia which has taken place since the ninth century. With starting points in France, Spain and Portugal, Pilgrim aims to be “more than just another typical Spanish restaurant”.

Featuring seasonal, ethically sourced regional produce with a focus on live-fire flavour, the 40-cover restaurant will offer a unique dining experience, with a bar that overlooks the open kitchen.

Founded by managing director, Jamie Duffield; chef director Dave Bone and brand and marketing director Anthony Power, Pilgrim saw off the competition on the most recent series of the BBC show.

The menu will be mainly small plates made for sharing that includes a four-course tasting menu, with optional beverage accompaniment. Dishes will include wood-roasted pork chop and fennel emulsion, chargrilled sardines with black olive crumb, scallops with smoked butter and barbecued octopus tentacle with guindilla pepper salsa.

The small plates range from £9 to £12, with four-course tasting menu at £35. Desserts and bar snacks are also available.

Customers can enjoy the extensive drinks menu which includes over 50 wines which will rotate with a ‘select’ menu following the current featured Camino, plus more than 30 vermouths, port and Spanish sherries. As well as being true to brand, these options follow an increasing attitude to lower percentage drinking.

Creative ‘taptails’ (cocktails on tap) will be created on site using infusions that echo the seasonality and flavour profiles of the menu. Premixing the cocktails will aim to ensure consistent high standards, zero waste and efficient serves. Ethical soft drinks and ‘charity water’ will also raise money for a charity of choice.

Pilgrim will bring an experience to Liverpool, drawing inspiration by following specific routes across the pilgrimage making every visit different. There are currently 12 established and well-traveled routes of the Camino and these routes will be the inspiration.

Anthony Power, brand and marketing director, said: “We are incredibly excited to have the opportunity to open our first permanent site at the new Duke Street Market in Liverpool, and we think the market will be a fantastic hub of great food and drinks, all housed under one roof.

“We’ll be showcasing the diverse flavours and ingredients found along the many routes of the Camino, serving a flexitarian menu that showcases the highest quality local produce, all cooked over a live-fire hearth in our open kitchen. With over 12 established routes of the Camino, we will have the scope to rotate the menu and bring a fresh approach and interpretations to traditional Iberian dishes.”