It's crunch time at TV Nick's new restaurant; REALITY STAR VOWS HE'LL BEAT IRELAND'S RECESSION.

Byline: MAEVE QUIGLEY

MAITRE'D Nick Munier claims his new reality TV show will bring people some good news in the recession.

Nick, who is best known as the stumbling maitre'd of Marco Pierre White's Hell's Kitchen, has joined forces with TV3 in the new series Nick's Bistro.

He has teamed up with top chef Stephen Gibson to open their own business in the middle of an international recession - and capture the whole experience on camera in a fly-on-the wall documentary.

And the pair said they are doing something positive to combat Ireland's downturn.

Nick added: "We thought it would be a feelgood story in these times as there's never a good time to open a restaurant.

"We approached TV3 and they wanted to go with the idea. It was stressful but it is nice to showcase people with passion who are opening a business." The series, which returns to TV3 tonight at 8pm, shows the trials and tribulations of opening Pichet in the heart of Dublin near Trinity College.

Stephen said: "I've run restaurants and kitchens but it's a whole different ball game when it is your money.

"But only for Nick I wouldn't be in the restaurant or on the television. And when we opened we knew times were hard so we weren't spending millions on murals or anything. We had a budget and we stuck to it as much as possible."

Nick said he wanted to show the public celebrity chefs don't have to be aggressive or horrible.

H e added : "Your stereotypical celebrity chef swears and shouts but Steve on the other hand is very calm, very chilled but a great chef with great ideas.

"I thought it would be nice to show how he works as it will be a breath of fresh air to see that you can be a chef and be nice."

Nick was one of the highlights of Hell's Kitchen due to his clumsy nature. He was singled out by host Angus Deaton for dropping trays of food, falling on stairs and tumbling off a chair when he was trying to have an argument with Marco.

But Nick claimed the new show is a better indication of what he is like.

He said: "On Hell's Kitchen I was always in Marco's shadow but this is our own show. I am clumsy - I fell on the stairs of Pichet on opening night but I think this will show other sides to me too."

Nick has a young family and at 42 he admitted he was scared of starting his own business. But as Pichet opened four months ago, business is now booming.

He said: "We try and keep our prices down without scrimping on quality."

maeve.quigley@irishmirror.ie

CAPTION(S):

AMBITIOUS Nick Munier

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Publication:	The Mirror (London, England)
Date:	Nov 23, 2009
Words:	461
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