A RETIRED couple, who lost their house when their dream restaurant went bust after just five weeks, are risking it all again to set up a gourmet soup kitchen.

John and Sue Campion were forced to remortgage their £2.5 million mansion when their business - The Canteen restaurant in the Strand - went into liquidation last year after falling into debt because of over-running building work.

The upmarket cafeteria, which traded under the slogan "gourmet without the wait," was the brain-child of Mr Campion, who had always dreamt of running a restaurant while his wife brought home the bacon as the former headteacher of Woodford County High School.

But now John, 70, is taking his vision back to basics after tirelessly slaving over a hot stove in their rented home in Grosvenor Gardens, Woodford Green, to produce a selection of sensational soups.

Far from the bog-standard leek and potato, John's menu takes the light lunch to the next level, with smoked salmon bisque and whisky, watercress and Tabasco and Gala pheasant and Verdelho among his many mouth-watering creations.

Mrs Campion, 63, said: "John is very energetic and it just goes to show you can be 70 and not dead.

"At a time in life when most people are reaching for their slippers and putting their feet up, to be starting something new is very exciting."

The couple, who are both Cambridge University graduates, had to throw out most of their possessions when they downsized - losing several unusual items in the process.

Mr Campion said: "Among the things that went missing was our wedding album and a collection of my engineering drawings for a vertical take-off machine that I had been developing over the years.

"We really are back to square one with everything now so the idea is just to start off with soups and progress from there.

"We're hoping to move on to ready meals and we ultimately want to get back into restaurants."

The couple are now looking for a manufacturer to help with the production of the soups after interest from buyers at Selfridges.