Culinary empire sim due in April

In April 2003, culinary connoisseurs will be saddled with cash and thrown into the busy world of a restaurateur, thanks to Enlight's Restaurant Empire. The PC-based management sim is bristling with detail - forcing you to build your own business from a menu of five cuisines, 37 unique chefs, 200 recipes and in one of three 'culinary capitals'. Players will have to hire waiters, decorate their restaurant and even get their hands dirty in the kitchen, in a game which is said to combine elements of the traditional management sim with RPG-esque gameplay. As you might expect, things quickly turn to acquisitions and expansion, as you try and gain a stranglehold on the industry in campaign mode, or in the freeform, Sim City-like "sandbox" mode.

Enlight's previous work includes Capitalism and Hotel Tycoon, so they're obviously well versed in entrepreneurial strategy. We wait to see how they get on with Restaurant Empire somewhat hungrily - it's due out from publisher Nobilis on April 11th.