WHILE snail porridge might not be on the menu, motorists in York will soon be able to get a taste of a menu cooked up by world-renowned chef Heston Blumenthal.

The Little Chef chain of roadside restaurants has chosen the A64 branch near Bilbrough Top as the next location to roll out its new menu, which has been completely revamped by the Michelin-starred chef.

When the restaurant reopens on July 28 following a refurbishment, it will be one of only three Little Chefs in the UK where the menu will be available.

According to the group’s chief executive, Ian Peglar, York was the logical choice to try out the menu and new-look restaurants following the success of the Popham branch in Hampshire, as seen in the television series Big Chef Takes On Little Chef.

“We wanted to see how the restaurant and the food would do away from London,” he said.

“We wanted somewhere in the Midlands and somewhere in the north.

“York is an eclectic city and it’s next to Leeds which is another eclectic city. York is also one of our top ten restaurants in terms of turnover and it’s just off a major road so we thought it was the next logical stage in our development.”

Mr Peglar said he was very confident in northern tastes and could see no problem in bringing Heston Blumenthal’s creations to York.

The new menu includes braised ox cheeks at £9.75, described by Mr Peglar as a gastro pub dish, as well as scrambled egg with poached salmon for £5.50, and a revamp of Little Chef’s signature Olympic Breakfast at £6.95. The new-look restaurant will also bring a boost in jobs for York as the company looks to take on 19 extra employees.

Mr Peglar said the restaurant in Popham was doing “phenomenally well” and was confident the success would be repeated in York.

“When it opened it was doing eight times the previous year’s business,” he said.

“People were queuing for two hours. We had one couple travel down from Newcastle for it.”

“It’s become a cult thing – if you haven’t been there you haven’t lived.”

The York branch is now closed while it is transformed into what Mr Peglar describes as a “retro American/British diner, and is due to re-open on July 28.

The re-launch will be filmed for an episode of Big Chef Takes on Little Chef, due to be screened in October.