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Meet The Owner Ep 28 | Richard Reynolds - Mr Muffin Turns Into Champagne
Meet The Owner
Thursday, 22 October 2026 - 60 minutes
What do you get when you combine a talented pastry chef, a passion for business and a vintage fire engine? A champagne bar unlike anything else!
In Episode 28 of Meet the Owner, Steven Dryden Hall welcomes the man affectionately known as **Champagne Richard**, the entrepreneur behind **Champagne Fire Truck** and **Belly Store**, for a fascinating, funny and refreshingly open conversation about food, business, ambition and the challenges of building something truly unique.
Richard's entrepreneurial journey began long before the champagne started flowing. Growing up in Worcestershire, he knew from the age of ten that he wanted to become a chef. After training as a pastry chef and achieving a distinction in his qualifications, he went on to work in professional kitchens before moving into food product development.
With more than two decades of development experience, Richard has worked on products for major retailers, including Fortnum & Mason, and shares some remarkable stories about creating everything from sweet Scotch eggs to innovative festive dishes.
But working in food development wasn't enough to satisfy his entrepreneurial ambitions. Richard launched **Belly Store**, initially selling chocolate muffins and coffee from a catering trailer. He reveals the difficult early years, the challenge of securing events, the importance of presentation and how one event at Jeremy Clarkson's farm generated £7,000 in sales on its opening day.
Then came an unusual investment: a vintage fire engine.
After years of wondering what to do with it, inspiration finally struck. Why not turn a classic fire engine into a mobile champagne bar? **Champagne Fire Truck** was born, creating an extraordinary centrepiece for events and celebrations.
Richard talks about his growing expertise in champagne, the art of sabrage, the struggle to reach major brands and event organisers, and his ambitions to take the fire engine to prestigious occasions including Royal Ascot, Wimbledon and even Monaco.
There are plenty of laughs along the way, from Richard's childhood nickname of Badger to the extraordinary cost of filling a fire engine with Dom Pérignon, plus his dream of owning not one but two Aston Martins.
Steven also explores the business realities behind the glamorous concept: unpredictable event income, reinvesting profits, managing stock, finding the right contacts and knowing when to take a risk.
Richard finishes by sharing three important lessons for aspiring business owners: **work hard, be passionate about what you do and never give up.**
An entertaining and inspiring conversation about turning unusual ideas into real businesses, the determination needed to succeed and why sometimes the biggest opportunities come from thinking differently.
**Meet the Owner**, hosted by Steven Dryden Hall and produced by Boom 7, brings you the personalities, challenges and stories behind the businesses and their owners.
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