The founder of Pret A Manger has vowed to take on the 'US giants of horrible fast food' with the relaunch of his Asian restaurant chain Itsu.
Julian Metcalfe has spent money on turning Itsu into a healthy convenience food chain and - in line with the home cooking trend - a number of sites will now use steamers to cook everything from bao buns to dumplings and whole grain brown rice.
The 63-year-old restaurateur, who set up Itsu in Chelsea in 1997, said: 'It's about the goal of being able to sell food which is nutritious at a price people can afford.
'For £3.50, you can eat like an emperor.
'When you walk in, you are not bombarded by vast buckets of French fries and huge processed meat. We want to provide a huge range of prices with a radical new menu and equipment to combat the appalling issues of food inflation and high staff costs.
'Reinvention and innovation are being forced upon UK businesses like never before.'