A restaurant owner has ditched his new themed eaterie inspired by TV chef Gordon Ramsay - because he says it was losing him money.

Scott Aitchison, who co-owns The Priory Grill, in Haywards Heath, is turning his business back to a carvery after complaints from customers.

The TV chef advised Mr Aitchison to drop the "tired and dated" carvery theme when the restaurant featured on Kitchen Nightmares.

Dry meat and frozen Yorkshire puddings made way for grilled meats and a variety of freshly cooked meals.

But less than a year after the Channel 4 makeover, Mr Aitchison has gone back to his original concept due to "overwhelming public demand".

He said: "I actually had people calling me up and saying we will come back, but only when you're a carvery again'."

The show's producers researched the area and concluded a grill would be popular with the town's younger residents, but Mr Aitchison now believes that was a mistake.

He said: "They looked at the demographics and decided that this is a commuter belt with a young market, but in actual fact the straw polls we conducted showed most of our customers are middle- aged. There isn't another carvery nearby so there is a gap in the market."

One legacy of Mr Ramsay's visit will stay - scrapping the pre-packed food and introducing fresh, locally grown produce.

All the meat on the carvery will be delivered by a local butcher who sources his meat from Heathfield farmers' market.

Prices have also been cut after customers complained about the large leap in prices. However, Mr Aitchison has no plans to reintroduce the two-for-one vouchers which had previously proved popular with customers.

Although the TV production company has kept in touch since filming took place last July, Mr Aitchison has no plans to allow the cameras back into his kitchen.

On his last visit, Ramsay wrapped quarantine tape around the grease-covered appliances and ovens before the production company spent £12,000 installing new equipment.

Mr Aitchison was then filmed storming out - though not before the production team had made him do six takes.

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