New Portsmouth owner's renovation of Knowle restaurant to be part of new TV series

Residents of Knowle Village were left devastated when the only restaurant in the village, Clifford Brown’s Brasserie, closed unexpectedly last year but George Madgwick has purchased the building and is raring to reopen under his own brand, The Wicks Bar and Grill.

The 31-year-old from Portsmouth said: ‘It is really exciting and I can’t wait to get it open. The kitchen is good to go but we just want to give it a new paint job and get some new furniture in.’

The transformation of the new restaurant will feature in a TV series on the W Channel and George, who was taught to cook by his uncle, who was an army chef, and picked up skills with TV chef Gino De Campo, hopes to open the doors in October with some special guests.

George said: ‘It will be really exciting to show what goes into opening a business as usually TV shows are about helping ones that go wrong or have bad reviews.

‘I used to do catering on tours in the past. I also worked as a tour manager on tours with people like Peter Andre. In fact that’s where I met Gino De Campo for the first time and had the opportunity to cook alongside him.’

The new bar and grill has already garnered support from locals.

George added: ‘I posted in a Facebook group and residents were really supportive about our plans.

SEE ALSO: Marks and Spencer could be returning to Portsmouth city centre in new hub

‘They said Clifford Brown’s was amazing food but too expensive to go frequently. We want meals to be around a tenner and the place to be somewhere people go two or three times a week to meet with friends or family.

‘There was lots of community groups and quiz nights that used the restaurant and we will keep that going as well.’

Just three weeks before lockdown, George opened his first restaurant, The Wicks in Cosham, but decided to put the kitchen and his team to good use and made thousands of meals for the community.

A message from the Editor, Mark Waldron

Thank you for reading this story. The dramatic events of 2020 are having a major impact on our advertisers and thus our revenues.

The News is more reliant than ever on you taking out a digital subscription to support our journalism. You can subscribe here for unlimited access to Portsmouth news and information online.

Every subscription helps us continue providing trusted, local journalism and campaign on your behalf for our city.