A waterfront restaurant in Cornwall experienced a 444% surge in bookings during the premiere of the latest BBC One series, Beyond Paradise.
The Sardine Factory, a harbourfront restaurant in Looe owned by chef and Great British Menu Series 19 contestant Ben Palmer, was prominently featured in the episode—sparking a surge in online reservations.
The restaurant’s booking system recorded 245 reservations last Friday evening, a massive jump from just 45 the previous week—an impressive 444% increase.
Advertisement The restaurant, which holds a Michelin Bib Gourmand, took center stage in the first episode of Series Three, where DI Humphrey Goodman’s partner, Martha Lloyd (played by Sally Bretton), launches her new business venture, Ten Mile Kitchen.
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Cornish fans of the show enjoyed a playful Devon versus Cornwall scone showdown in one of the scenes, where two police detectives from either side of the border compete over the correct way to layer jam and cream—naturally, the Cornish officer goes jam first.
The restaurant saw more drama in the season opener when Martha’s mum Anne (played by Barbara Flynn) had a fall in the kitchen, leading Chef Ben to humorously call out to his team on social media: “Who forgot to mop up the spill guys?!”
The series, led by Kris Marshall as DI Humphrey Goodman, is bringing Cornwall and Devon to a broader audience on national television, with much of the filming taking place in Looe.
It was so exciting to be approached by the BBC and asked if they could use the restaurant for filming.
Palmer, who also runs the Traditional Greek Restaurant YAMAS across the water, shared his excitement:
He went on to praise the show’s impact, saying,
The team have done an incredible job of shining a spotlight on Looe and surrounding areas and now we are seeing an uplift in bookings as a direct result. We are over the moon.
And we will definitely be checking the kitchen floor more thoroughly for spills in the future after Anne’s little slip!
Palmer added with a smile,
Ben, who won the starter course on last year’s Great British Menu with his Firefly dish—later served at the banquet in Paris—recently had two of his recipes included in the Great British Menu 20th anniversary recipe book, released in January.
Season 3 of Beyond Paradise continues tonight (Friday) at 8pm on BBC One.