Showing your chest to one of the sector's giants may appear risky, but this reflects a trend in the UK foodservice industry for customers who want better service, environment and quality and are prepared to pay for it. Customers are becoming more informed and 'savvy' from being exposed to different types of food and, as a result, they are more inclined to 'trade up'. This is a prime example.

The unit itself was more than 75 per cent occupied when we arrived in the evening, with a mixture of families, couples, 'suits' and pre-cinema diners. GBK is an assisted service operation, so I went to the counter and ordered a Cheeseburger (£6.55) and Banana Milkshake (£3.15) for my colleague and a Thai Chicken Burger (£7.15) and New Zealand brewed Steinlager (£2.95) for myself. With a shared portion of thick cut fries (£2.45), the total bill came to £22.50. Almost three times as expensive as a Burger King equivalent - except for the beer! We were happy to pay the premium for the clean and crisp décor, quality of product - and it felt like a real restaurant.

GBK has big plans to expand to over 100 sites in the next three years, and although this is still dwarfed by the size of the McDonald's and Burger King estates, the brand is creating a mainstream following for more sophisticated 'fast food fresh'. In our view 'less is more'.

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