Gary Usher, the king of Kickstarter chefs, is chasing his third round of crowdfunding to launch the fourth restaurant of his northwestern empire – with fellow chefs led by Tom Kerridge (pictured) rallying to help.

Usher needs pledges totalling £200,000 – significantly more than in his first two campaigns – by June 8 in order to proceed with his planned restaurant Wreckfish in Liverpool.

It may be a tall order, but a squad of big-hitting chefs have chipped in with offers of guest chef nights, including Michael O’Hare of The Man Behind the Curtain in Leeds and Daniel Clifford of Midsummer House in Cambridge as well as Kerridge.

The building requires a £500,000 investment to convert into a 90-seat restaurant, with the bank willing to lend £300,000. If it goes ahead, it will be Usher’s first venue located in a city centre rather than an outlying suburb.

He opened his first restaurant, Sticky Walnut in Hoole, Chester, in 2011, then raised £103,000 on Kickstarter to open Burnt Truffle in Heswall three years later, followed by £58,000 to open Hispi in Didsbury, greater Manchester, last year.