Now Marco turns to sandwiches

He made his name as a gourmet king for dining's elite. Now, after handing back his three Michelin stars and retiring from the kitchen, Marco Pierre White is reinventing himself - as a chef for the people.

The 41-year-old, once famed as much for his tempestuous personality as his culinary skills, recently became a partner in London's Planet Hollywood .

Now he has added a sandwich company and a bagel chain to his empire. And he is planning a supermarket range of branded food, from sandwiches and bagels to burgers and smoked salmon.

In a series of multi-million-pound deals, White has sold his share in the Oak Room Restaurant , where he once had three stars, as well as the Titanic restaurant-bar and the MPW Brasserie at the Post House Hotel in Belsize Park. He also pulled out of West End nightspots Sugar Reef and Red Cube last year.

This week he spent £2 million buying the fish restaurant Wheeler's of St James's - a London institution for nearly 150 years - and has bought into three fast food outlets selling burgers, bagels and sandwiches to the sort of customers who would never have crossed the threshold of his temples of gastronomy.

Following the shock move into Planet Hollywood, where he bought a 50 per cent share from owner Robert Earl, he has teamed up with Earl to invest in the Earl of Sandwich company - with the 11th earl and his son Orlando Montagu - which delivers gourmet snacks to office workers in the City and East London from a base in Hackney.

Their latest acquisition is a share in the Bagel Mania chain. Now he is negotiating a deal with supermarkets and petrol stations to sell bagels and sandwiches, as well as a separate range of gourmet fillings. He hopes to use the Wheeler's name to market fish products here and abroad.

He said: "As well as becoming a glamorous little fish restaurant, I think it can become an international brand name."

And he added: "Many people think I am prostituting myself but that's a bit of a pathetic statement. I want to use my knowledge and skills to touch every section of society."