THE founders of the Brewhouse & Kitchen pub chain and the man who made instant noodles a healthy option are on a list of 100 business innovators.

The Maserati 100, published by the Sunday Times, celebrates entrepreneurs and ‘disruptors’.

It includes Bournemouth man Kris Gumbrell and his business partner Simon Bunn, who together created Brewhouse & Kitchen, and Damien Lee, who founded Mr Lee’s Pure Foods.

Kris Gumbrell went to what was then Dorset Institute of Higher Education and spent 20 years working for major pub companies before co-founding his own company. Brewhouse & Kitchen pubs brew beer on the premises and offer family dining, with no sport on TV.

Its first pub locally was the derelict Malt & Hops in Southbourne, and it has since acquired the former Rising Sun in Poole and Branksome Arms at the Triangle.

Mr Gumbrell told the Daily Echo last year: “There are too many pubs out there who think ‘If I just switch the football on or buy a karaoke, I’ve done my job’. You’ve got to be more dynamic and creative.

“Guests are sharp. We talk to them a lot. We always take the time to find out whether people are happy.”

Mr Gumbrell has pioneered brewing apprenticeships in a bid to get young people into the industry.

Damien Lee, 51, had a career in telecoms before being diagnosed with cancer and given four weeks to live in 2014. He received the all-clear in January after a second experience with cancer.

He founded Mr Lee’s Pure Foods in Bournemouth to enter the instant noodle market, which sells 100 billion meals a year worldwide.

Rather than go all-out to get into supermarkets, the business focused on getting onto trains and planes and its own cashless vending machines.

Mr Lee added: “I think it’s also our approach to disrupting a huge industry, the instant noodle sector, and creating the most expensive most premium brand whilst everybody’s in the big race to the bottom, trying to dumb down their product and compete in the £1-£2 market. We said we’re going to do it for £2.99.”

The business has expanded to sell from France and Scandinavia to Hong Kong. It has begun production in Australia, where it launched in 1,000 supermarkets, and has also become available on TUI airlines.