Ironically, no one taught Oxfordshire's Michelin-starred chef Raymond Blanc how to cook, yet he now spends much of his time teaching others.

Not for him a famous mentor. Everything this celebrated chef learnt, when he began cooking in a commercial kitchen, he discovered through his own blunders, failures, frustrations and hardships.

It was his single-minded determination to succeed that lifted him out of the kitchen at the Rose Revived, at Newbridge, where he began his career as a chef, and into Le Manoir aux Quat' Saisons, where he has has remained at the top of the game for almost three decadestell H..

But despite the fact he is totally self-taught, Raymond believes training is paramount if you are to run a successful business. A whole generation of top chefs, such as Marco Pierre White, John Burton Race, Eric Chavot, and another 16 equally brilliant, owe their starts to Raymond's training skills. Even Heston Blumenthal, the proponent of molecular gastronomy, who runs The Fat Duck at Bray, spent a week or two in Le Manoir's kitchens.

Raymond has also helped train hundreds of food enthusiasts at his training kitchens there; some actually build their holidays around one of his cookery courses.

Now Raymond is sharing his experiences and expertise with nine couples who dream of running their own kitchens. Millions will watch him putting them through their paces when his BBC2 television programme, The Restaurant, goes out on air in the autumn.

It's a show that will undoubtedly highlight not just the delights of running your own restaurant, but the harsh realities too. Doubtless, Raymond will be as strict with the couples participating as he has been with himself over the years.

The restaurant trade is certainly big business if you get it right. There are more than 27,000 restaurants in the UK, taking some £8bn a year. However, of the 1,000 new venues that open every year, 900 close - so not everyone's a winner.

Unfortunately, there are far too many people who assume that if they can organise a successful dinner party in their own home, they can run a restaurant - which is certainly not the case. Others just don't do their homework, or pay attention to food fashions and fads.

Raymond knows only too well how easy it is for a restaurant to be affected by food fads or - as in the case of his Le Petit Blanc chain that went into administration in 2003 - how a general downturn in the number of people eating out can have a devastating effect on trade. The brasseries went on to be run by Loch Fyne, but by 2006, Raymond had raised the money to buy Loch Fyne out and create a stand-alone company. He is now expanding the brand under its new name, Brasserie Blanc, of which he is a founder shareholder and director.

The business thrives - indeed the Oxford-based Brasserie Blanc, in Walton Street, which celebrates its tenth anniversary this year, was given a superb facelift recently and now boasts a stylish, uncluttered look, enhanced by the many black-and-white photographs of Raymond that adorn the walls.

Managed by Max Seghizzi, with head chef Manjo Prasad in the kitchen, the restaurant is going from strength to strength, and a positive team spirit that encourages everyone to pull together prevails. The staff have all been trained, not just to produce the exciting new menu in a particular way - but to put their heart and soul into welcoming their customers. Raymond is confident that in today's restaurant world - where the word service is losing its meaning - the warm and sincere welcome he has trained his staff to offer is at the heart of his success. "A smile at the door, so that the customer feels warm, welcomed - cuddled almost - says everything," he explained.

Raymond believes training is so important that he has devised a training manual covering every dish served on the menu, which now takes into account the needs of those seeking a quick business lunch at a set price, together with those looking for a lighter, simpler menu which still celebrates taste.

His 'Dine with Wine', which offers a two-course lunch and a glass of wine for £11.50, or two-course dinner and wine for £15, is proving particularly popular.

He says that people come to the brasseries confident they will leave having enjoyed an excellent meal served by staff who have been trained to make it a happy experience.

"Time spent teaching the staff is never wasted," said Raymond, who reinforces what he teaches by asking his pupil to teach someone else the same task once they have mastered it themselves.

"They become better trained by doing this; they certainly feel enriched when they get it right. It's all part of the learning process.

"My work is to train the next generation of chefs to carry on my values and standards, but that doesn't mean those serving the food and greeting the customer should ignore the training manual."

Raymond added: "To set up a business - especially a restaurant business - and make a success of it, is one of the hardest things in the world. It's a constant balancing act of passion with acumen, ego with humility, knowledge with a hunger to take risks."

At the moment, much of his time is taken up working on his television programme. It is hard work, but Raymond says he is enjoying sharing his experience and expertise with like-minded people who are eager to enter the crazy, but irresistible world of restaurants.

Although there will only be one winning couple at the end of the series, he is confident that all the participants will gain something by taking part. Like training, such experiences are never wasted, he says.