Australian ex-cons are to open a high-end restaurant down under after Seven Network acquired the format rights to the gritty Canadian series Conviction Kitchen from Cineflix International.

Seven is developing an Aussie version of the reality TV series that sees convicted felons from Brisbane with no culinary experience trained by an established chef to become restaurant waiters and cooks in a classy eatery.

The format deal with Seven was sealed by Cineflix International president and managing director Paul Heaney.

Back home, Montreal-based indie producer Cineflix Productions is currently producing a second season of Conviction Kitchen in Vancouver.

Chef Marc Thuet and wife Biana Zorich converted a local downtown restaurant into a Canadian reality TV set to send local ex-cons into kitchen and dining room duty. The first season of Conviction Kitchen saw Thuet and Zorich open a high-end restaurant in Toronto from scratch that was staffed by convicted criminals.

The series’ second season, executive produced by Simon Lloyd of Toronto-based Cineflix, has been picked up by Rogers’s Citytv stations and Planet Green stateside.