Dorset entrepreneur competes for £150k investment on Gordon Ramsey's TV show
Hebe Ibbotson is up against 12 others for investment in her unique business
Last updated 30th Mar 2023
The owner of BooChaCha in Bournemouth will be competing for £150,000 in season 2 of Gordon Ramsey's Future Food Stars.
Hebe Ibbotson from Wareham is up against twelve up-and-coming food and drink entrepreneurs all vying for Gordon Ramsey’s investment into their business.
All the contestants were ‘hand-picked’ by the coveted chef, but Hebe enters the competition with the least experience, having only founded her business two year ago.
She called being selected for the show “a bit random, but very exciting,” and despite being wary of how she’d come across on TV, she said: “Because of the industry I’m in, it's just one of those opportunities I just couldn’t turn down.”
In awe of the experience and eager to learn, she told us: “I found myself thinking, when do you get the chance to sit with experts in their field and learn from them without there ever being any risks, other than the fact you might get sent home.”
The 31-year-old is the founder of BooChaCha, a local company focused on making home-brewing kombucha easy and accessible to everyone.
She became passionate about kombucha - a mildly fizzy, fermented drink known for its health benefits - while travelling around the Japanese mountains.
Having suffered with mild gut problems for her whole life, she found kombucha was the only thing that helped.
Now, she's looking for Gordon Ramsey to invest in the UK's first kombucha bar. Hebe said: “I really want to start a kombucha bar where you have a range of different kombuchas, all natural, gluten free, low sugar and with different alcohol strength.”
Throughout the series, she will face a series of gruelling tests designed to showcase her talent and passion for the industry.
At the time of filming, Hebe’s business had only been going for a year and she quickly learnt a lot about herself: “I didn't realise how resilient I was. There were a lot of ups and downs, and I was able to constantly pick myself back up when things had gone wrong.”
“The most interesting thing for me was hearing about how the other contenders had begun their businesses and what challenges they had faced in the first couple of years.”
She noted that she didn’t come away from the experience with any regrets and in fact returned home more confident and proactive than ever.
You can watch Hebe battle it out for the ultimate prize in Gordon Ramsay's Future Food Stars, tonight at 9pm on BBC One.