‘Alex Polizzi effect’ triples bookings at Gilpin Hotel

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Appearing in Alex Polizzi: Chefs on Trial has put Gilpin Hotel and Lake House on the map.

Gilpin Hotel has received a rush of bookings after it was featured on the BBC’s new series, Alex Polizzi: Chefs on Trial, and hits on its website have increased from 100 a day to 25,000 on the evenings that the show was aired.

The new series followed the efforts of the Cunliffe family, owners of Gilpin, as they attempted to hire a new executive head chef, aided by former star of The Hotel Inspector Alex Polizzi.

The first epsiode of Alex Polizzi: Chefs on Trial aired on April 20 and the hotel, which boasts 26 hotel rooms, saw an uptick in room bookings within days.

WATCH: Alex Polizzi Chefs On Trial S01E04 Gilpin Final

“The short-term spontaneous bookings have trebled and that will continue for a few months,” said The Gilpin’s managing director Barney Cunliffe.

“Longer term, people making bookings to come to a hotel like this won’t just decide to go away because they’ve seen the television programme but when they do, they will think of us. I’m expecting to be full for the majority of this year.”

Many local customers have been trying to spot the restaurant’s new head chef, Hrishikesh Desai, a former national chef of the year, and trained under Michelin-starred chef Michel Roux, who was revealed to be the winner of the competition. Mr Desai started three weeks ago but his identity has been kept a secret.

“We’ve been very careful to keep him under wraps,” said Mr Cunliffe. “He hasn’t been out of the restaurant and hasn’t even been talking to suppliers, he’s very much been behind the scenes.”