Dragons' Den chefs hope to find recipe for success
Niall Harbison, above, co-owner of http://ifoods.tv, will be trying to secure an investment on tonight?s 'Dragons' Den' on BBC2
THE owners of an Irish website which gives step-by-step instructions on how to cook a range of dishes will tonight face the wrath of the BBC's notorious dragons in an attempt to get funding for their venture.
Niall Harbison and Sean Fee will enter the 'Dragons' Den', where entrepreneurs outline their business plan to a team of hard-nosed investors who will decide whether to invest in their start-up company or send them packing.
But the owners of website http://ifoods.tv, based in the Digital Hub in Dublin, were remaining tightlipped last night about whether they were happy with the outcome.
Harbison (27) said he wasn't allowed to say anything about the show until it was broadcast tonight, but asked if the dragons were as difficult in reality as they appear on the show, he said: "It's pretty much like it appears on screen."
Mr Harbison started his career as a chef in restaurant Peacock Alley under the guidance of the Michelin-starred Conrad Gallagher, later becoming the youngest head chef in Ireland when he took the reins at Lloyd's Brasserie in 2001, aged just 20.
There he cooked for Victoria Beckham and Robbie Williams, and since then has catered for the rich and famous as a private chef on super yachts and in their mansions. Among his clients are Microsoft owner Bill Gates, U2, Lance Armstrong and Mariah Carey.
The website was born because recipe books are "impractical" and he felt a step-by-step approach might help people discover the art of cooking.
"It was my idea," he said. "We get about 100,000 hits a month on the website, it's 100pc free for users and the revenue is based on advertisement, which is going well."
- Paul Melia
