Top chef Hilde-Marie Smith has Michelin stars in her eyes as she prepares to open a pop-up restaurant in Faversham.
Mrs Smith is re-locating HMS, which she uses to train apprentice chefs, to Macknade Fine Foods in Selling Road, from June 1.
Jack Wilkins, 25, works as a front of house assistant. He said: “It’s great, I am on a journey to learning everything I can about wine, coffee and fine food service.”
At first, the 35-seater restaurant will open as a pop-up only once a month, but Mrs Smith hopes to be able to provide more space later.
She will also run cookery classes for children and adults, teaching them to create a meal from fresh ingredients for less than £5.
The Catering4Kent founder was optimistic that the new venture could earn recognition in the prestigious Michelin Guide.
She said: “There is a guy in Paris who opens his home up to diners once a week and he has got a Michelin star so I don’t see why we couldn’t achieve it.
“My aim is to be in the Michelin Guide by 2014 and to have at least two or three rosettes by then.
Mrs Smith moved to Kent from South Africa in 1996. She established her catering firm in 2004 after working as a chef manager for Roux Fine Dining. Among her staff are three young chefs, all serving 18-month apprenticeships, who she recruited after opening HMS at Faversham’s Abbey School last year.
She said: “We had quite a few barriers to overcome at the school and I think people found it difficult to imagine fine dining at a school canteen. Macknade is so fantastic, it is a foodie destination already and an ideal place to have a cookery school and restaurant.
“It seems like a natural progression for us.”
The first pop-up restaurant will open at 7pm on Saturday, June 29. The three-course meal will cost £32.99 and diners are invited to bring their own alcohol.
For more information visit www.catering4kent.co.uk
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