A MasterChef finalist and his wife have taken over a tiny seaside spot once home to a Michelin-star restaurant billed Kent’s best.

With space for only 16 diners, the building in Oscar Road, Broadstairs was previously occupied by Stark – an award-winning eatery topping the TripAdvisor charts in 2019.

Now, chef Tony Rodd - who appeared on the hit BBC cooking show in 2015 - and his wife Becky have overhauled the venue and are leaning into its small size.

Named Fifteen Square Metres after the size of the restaurant’s floorplan, they welcomed their first customers last week.

Mr Rodd told KentOnline: “We both do everything because it is just us - there’s no team.

“And at the end of the night, the two of us are in the kitchen cleaning and washing and polishing glasses together and resetting for the next day.

“So we are very much just us and the way we treat it is it's a dinner party in our house.

“You can sit on any table in here and turn around and have a chat with me in the kitchen.

“It's that small that really you can do that.

“It's a really nice way for us to work closely together and keep it personable and friendly.

“We want you to feel like you're coming into our home.”

Mrs Rodd takes care of most of the front-of-house, wine and administrative sides of the business while her husband handles the food.

Previously offering a moody interior featuring bare wood, copper and tinted windows, the couple have changed the decor to a light-coloured palette of pinks and greens.

Stark owners Ben and Sophie Crittenden left Kent in May after eight years and relocated to Essex.

Following a Michelin-starred venue may seem like an impossible task for some, but Mr Rodd - who still makes appearances on MasterChef as a guest judge - says they “are not trying to imitate anyone”.

“I think for us we're very happy to do what we do and be ourselves,” he explained.

“We're confident in the quality of our food, drink and the service we can provide.

“But, we're not trying to imitate anyone else.

“I think what Stark did was phenomenal, really amazing, and to get a Michelin star is just an amazing achievement anyway.

“So, I think that anybody going in trying to emulate that would be a bit foolhardy.

“Hopefully we will do it really well and people will really enjoy it.

“If that results in any acclaim at the end of it, fantastic.”

The couple - who first came across the Thanet restaurant just five weeks ago - previously lived and worked in London, running Copper and Ink in Blackheath.

They sadly had to close in January due to soaring energy bills and a drop in footfall.

After moving to Margate to help set up and craft the menu at trendy new wine bar Pomus, which is gaining attention on the foodie scene, Mr Rodd has now left to oversee his own venture.

The 42-year-old added: “Before we took on the restaurant in London we always said we wanted to do something small.

“I think the original plan was about 20 covers but we couldn't find a site like that in Blackheath where we were.

“Then we ended up with an 88-cover restaurant over two floors, which was great, but it was a lot.

“When this site came up it felt very much like this plan all along.”

The menu is entirely gluten-free and features seasonal dishes.

Highlights include mackerel ceviche with salted celeriac and pickled apple, peri-peri quail with sweetcorn succotash, and aubergine glazed in ponzu with pickled aubergine relish and zhoug - a North African-style herb blend.

Mrs Rodd will be acting as a sommelier, featuring wines which are “a bit different” as well as natural and English bottles.

Despite the personal feel, working in a 15sq m space comes with its challenges, the restaurateurs admit.

Mr Rodd said: “It's definitely the biggest challenge.

“That's the only thing really that we're tweaking and adjusting, but I think you do that in any space.

“We've had to use every inch of space we've got.

“We have things hanging underneath the shelves, some of my herbs and spices in the dining room, and spare glasses on the shelves above tables.

“We are constantly thinking about how to use the space but actually it works quite well.”

With limited room, they have “not been able to please everybody”, not serving cocktails and only cafetieres of coffee.

Furthermore, being a team of two, they have decided to close every seventh week having worked in their Blackheath restaurant for five years without a holiday.

They have been “overwhelmed” by the response so far, with 350 people signing up to the mailing list before opening and taking online bookings through its website.