Longtime readers of this site know of my near-obsession with British culinary competition series Last Restaurant Standing, currently airing its second season on BBC America.Fans of the series will know how much I adored Season Two contestants Helen and Stephen, who ran family-style restaurant Nel's and were eliminated from the competition in last week's episode. While I had a feeling that this supportive and determined couple would unfortunately not end up becoming partners to restaurateur Raymond Blanc, I couldn't help but be charmed by their can-do spirit and innate confidence.
I had wondered just what Helen and Stephen had gotten up to since the second season of Last Restaurant Standing had wrapped, so imagine my surprise when I received the following message from Stephen himself.
"Hi Televisionary
This is Steve from Nel's.
Been loving your blogs and reviews of the show. Now it seems that we have been eliminated from the show in the US its safe for me to comment!
Far from running a bakery, Helen and I are now running a 31 bed hotel with 2 bars, 2 restaurants and 2 function rooms. We've been here 7 weeks and currently have increased the business by 50% over the previous year. So the show did change our lives. It was only after completing my diaries about our time on the show that I worked out our big mistake. We thought the competition was to run the most successful restaurant every week. In reality the competition was to prove that you could be the best partner for RB and we were probably not cut out for that.
Keep up the good work. Have really enjoyed the reviews and some of the comments here. And we're determined that Conquering Cabbage will have its day!!
Steve"
I have to say that I am absolutely thrilled that Stephen and Helen have found their niche and have launched what sounds like a highly successful business venture, especially one that seems so cut out for their trademark brand of hospitality. Given the warm welcome that customers received at Nel's, their Last Restaurant Standing eatery, I know that the patrons of their new business are bound to feel right at home thanks to the generosity of Stephen and Helen.
Best of luck to you both and I too think that we haven't heard the last of "Conquering Cabbage"!
On tonight's episode of Last Restaurant Standing ("Tricky Customer"), Raymond invites back the least-satisfied customers from previous weeks, hoping that the couples will ensure that these guests have a more enjoyable dining experience the second time around.
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