Despite my moaning about the sheer mountainous volume of foodie shows on TV, I’m actually looking forward to The Restaurant (BBC Two, Thursday, 29 October, 8pm). That’s because this show knows how to do it and do it exceedingly well. Even better than Mr Kipling. With it’s air of sophistication, it melds the cool with the white hot tension of The Apprentice, without all the needless showboating and ranty put-downs. In Raymond Blanc, they’ve got a man who doesn’t think of himself as a TV personality, but a man who knows about food who just happens to have a camera in his face. This new series kicks off with The Pitch…

As ever, we’ve got nine couples hoping for the chance to run their own restaurant. In the first show, they’re challenged to make a signature dish for Blanc and naturally, some of the grub proffered looks like something produced by the bile duct of a pensioner who isn’t allowed solids.

The wonderful Sarah Willingham, Blanc’s most lovely looking henchbuddy, mutters “Everyone’s having une petite catastrophe,” about our plucky contestants.

As such, this show simmers and as ever, it will be riveting viewing, occasionally to be watched through the white knuckles of your fingers.