Liverpool food mastermind raises most money ever in UK through Kickstarter for a restaurant

In May, Chef owner, Gary Usher, launched a record-breaking £200k Kickstarter campaign to open a 100-cover restaurant in the Ropewalks area of Liverpool city centre.

A series of chefs offered to host guest chef nights to help raise the target, including Michelin-starred Chef Patron of Midsummer House, Daniel Clifford. On 20th August, he was joined by some of the UK’s top chefs who he has previously worked with, to host an exclusive barbeque at Usher’s Heswall based restaurant, Burnt Truffle.

Taking over the restaurant on Sunday 20th August, Gary Usher and Daniel Clifford were joined by top chefs including Executive Chef of The Wild Rabbit, Tim Allen, Chef Owner of Alimentum and The White Horse, Mark Poynton, Collette’s at the Grove’s Head Chef, Russel Bateman, Head Chef of Midsummer House, Mark Abbott and Pike & Pine’s Matt Gillan. Dishes included; Sugar pit cured pork ribs, Honey and mustard glazed pork neck, Charred scallions, Charred cauliflower, almond, golden sultana and salted lemon salad and Barbeque spiced sweetcorn.

Despite the typically British weather, spirits weren’t dampened and revelers enjoyed the great food, drink and entertainment from DJ, Afrodeutsch, well into the night. Gary Usher comments: “I was lost for words when Daniel offered to get everyone together for the Kickstarter. It was absolutely amazing to see all those faces in one place, cooking together again. I feel so humbled that Daniel made this happen and want to thank all the chefs and their teams for a truly unforgettable evening.”

The record-breaking £200k crowdfunding campaign for Wreckfish is the largest ever amount raised in the UK by Kickstarter for a restaurant. A huge £35,000 was raised just 24 hours into the campaign, with the final total reaching £208,956. The Kickstarter campaign saw additional support from the likes of Duck & Waffle’s, Dan Doherty, who will be hosting Wreckfish’s first ever brunch service on 5th November to a sold-out crowd, as well as Michelin star chef, Tom Kerridge, who will be hosting another sell-out six-course menu later in the year.

Wreckfish is set to launch in October 2017. For more information, visit www.wreckfish.co.

All videography and photography courtesy of Natural Selection Design. The Wreckfish trailer can be found here: https://vimeo.com/207647072.