MICHELIN starred chef Matt Gillan is calling on foodies to fund the renovation of the rear garden at his new restaurant

The Great British Menu finalist is taking over the Red Roaster cafe in Brighton but there have been some problems with the renovations which have hit the budget and he has started an internet crowdfunding campaign to pay for the garden.

The café in St James's Street is due to reopen at the end of February after a four month refurbishment programme, with Matt Gillan behind the addition of the Pike & Pine restaurant in the evenings.

The aim at the design stage was to create a world class venue, featuring some of the best coffee from around the world, roasted at Red Roaster’s Kemptown roaster, and to offer Matt's fantastic food.

Although the project was running to budget, the building started to show its age, with various problems unearthed once building work commenced. This has resulted in the garden element of the project being postponed.

Matt said “We set out with an ambitious goal but we certainly didn’t go in to this project financially unprepared. We had a generous contingency fund and were certain we could complete the project on budget. There are certain things you just

can’t prepare for and we weren’t prepared for them”

The main refurbishment will be completed but Matt decided to launch a crowdfunding page, through Kickstarter, to get the garden renovation started.

He added: “The space behind Red Roaster is a hidden gem. The vision is to create a truly unique, magical space in an area most people have no idea exists in Brighton. We will essentially turn a redundant space into a talking point for Kemptown, and the crowdfunding is a way for people to get involved and be part of making it happen”

Matt is looking to raise £80,000 to secure the lease of the outside space, and get the ball rolling on a large conservatory space, a prep kitchen that will also serve the garden and a kitchen garden.

Matt is also looking to use some of the funding to invest in equipment for the Kemptown roastery, as the team is close to reaching the capacity of what the current set up will allow.

Some of the rewards available include brunch at Red Roaster during the day, multi-course menus at Pike and Pine in the evening. Also on offer to those who contribute could be The Herder book, written by Matt, that accompanied his winning main course on Great British menu, Red Roaster coffee packages and exclusive use Christmas parties.

Currently the Kickstarter campaign is almost at £10,000 with a deadline of 6th March to achieve the £80,000 target. If the target is not achieved, all money raised will be refunded.

For more information go to the red roaster page on kickstarter.com