Beyond Paradise’s real-life restaurant owner faces huge backlash from locals
EXCLUSIVE: Chef Ben Palmer owns the real-life restaurant, which Beyond Paradise's Martha Lloyd recently opened as the Ten Mile Kitchen
Beyond Paradise’ restaurant Ten Mile Kitchen is set in Looe (Image: BBC)
Since BBC’s Beyond Paradise first aired in 2023, fans have been intrigued by the scenic location of the Death in Paradise spin-off. Many have travelled to Cornwall to discover the sights of the fictional Shipton Abbott and trace the steps of the beloved characters.
This includes Martha Lloyd’s (played by Sally Bretton) recently opened cafe, the Ten Mile Kitchen, which is filmed in Chef Ben Palmer’s eatery, The Sardine Factory Viewers flocked to the restaurant to get a closer glimpse of the setting, so much so that it saw a staggering rise in online reservations. Following the season three premiere in March, the Sardine Factory’s booking system in April saw a massive jump from just 45 in one week and reported with an impressive 444% increase.
Chef Ben Palmer owns the real-life Ten Mile Kitchen (Image: seafordcornwall.org.uk)
Despite this amazing success, Chef Ben told the Express that the spike in newcomers hasn’t always received a positive reception from locals.
The 2024 Great British Menu champion said: “You get a lot of kickback from a lot of locals saying, ‘we don’t want more people coming to town.’”
“But you know what? It’s so important to bring tourism in the restaurant business, we rely on it. We rely on people coming to visit us, to eat and have a great experience.
“And then the busier we are, the more jobs we’re creating for people to come in and get into the industry.
Beyond Paradise’s Ten Mile Kitchen takes place in the Sardine Factory (Image: BBC)
“We’re creating jobs for the younger generation, we’re busy enough to put them through college and keep apprenticeships, so it’s all a big kind of knock-on effect,” the restaurateur added.
Ben initially opened the restaurant in 2018 as part of a regeneration project, which also saw the addition of a museum to the town.
The stunning imagery of Looe’s beach and harbour can be seen throughout season three, bringing the popular seaside town to the forefront of the UK’s holiday list and making The Sardine Factory a tourist hotspot.
Its menu, which includes smoked haddock scotch egg, oysters, seaweed butter and the classic fish and chips, reflects the ethos of the Cornish fishing port and a passion for local seasonal produce with an abundance of sustainable fish dishes.
