The owner of the Northumberland restaurant that took the crown on Channel 4's Come Dine With Me: The Professionals has announced a celebration night with its customers.
Caboose in Blyth took the £1,000 prize after getting a score of 29 out of 40 from its rivals at River Beat on Newcastle Quayside and Savoury Fix in Hetton. And though they're planning a big celebration at the restaurant on Friday July 22, owner Marc McPake has said that he and head chef Mark Hubble had achieved the 'main objective' of coming across well and doing themselves proud.
There were a few moments of friction on the show, particularly between Marc and Mark, who were nicknamed Dapper and Jazzy respectively by the other contestants, and River Beat chef Andy. There were also some interesting comments about Caboose's food, with husband and wife duo Daimon and Steph from Savoury Fix describing it as "like and old kettle or a new kettle".
Read more: Northumberland restaurant owner says Come Dine With Me win 'puts town on the map'
However, none of that could detract from an impressive victory, with Mark saying: "Obviously we knew the result but seeing it last night put the icing on the cake, we feel really overwhelmed, humbled and really proud. Most importantly, we achieved the main objective by coming across the way we did and doing ourselves proud, I think that's the biggest bonus for us."
To celebrate, there'll be a party at Caboose next Friday, with the boys serving the same menu as they did on the show (a starter of scallops with black pudding, a main of pan-fried seabass, and a dessert of Gatsby cheesecake), along with a few extras that didn't make it onto their menu for the night. They have had hundreds of messages of congratulations since their appearance on the show and a lot of engagement on their Facebook page too.
Marc continued: "We're not used to be thrust into the limelight like that, feedback has been overwhelming and we're really proud that people from Blyth are proud that we're from Blyth and that we've won the show. There's a bit of community spirit coming out in the comments and we want to embrace that as we're very much community orientated.
"To hear that feedback means people have got our back, they like who we are and what we're doing and that's really quite reassuring. So next Friday, our customers will get to experience what they tried and tasted and we'll have a little bit of fun and get them to vote on it as well.
"We're going to have a bit of tongue in cheek and have a laugh with it, everyone's going to get champagne on arrival. There'll be a few non-fish dishes because one of the criticisms was that there was too much fish on our menu - even though we're a seafood restaurant!"
Despite any friction between the contestants that those criticisms caused, Marc would be happy to meet up with the other couples again. He continued: "I don't hold any grudges and I'd definitely sit down with them and have a laugh about it.
"It was a pressured situation and sometimes that brings out certain characters that are not necessarily their true self, so it'd be interesting to sit down in the cold light of day for a beer and see what they're really like. There are no hard feelings, we're chuffed that we won, and they voted for us so I'm grateful that they recognised what we did in such a way that we scored highest and won the show."
Thursday night's episode is the second helping of Come Dine With Me: The Professionals filmed in the North East, with Balls of Prudhoe winning against Namaste and Pigalo's earlier this month.
If you missed Come Dine With Me: The Professionals, it is available to watch via catch-up on All4. For more information on the restaurants who took part in the programme or to book a table, visit the websites of Caboose, River Beat and Savoury Fix.
Who do you think should have won Come Dine With Me: The Professionals? Let us know!
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