Michelin award-winning chef announces closure of popular seafood restaurant and admits ‘it was never very lucrative’
A TOP chef has announced he is shutting down a popular seafood restaurant as he confesses “it was never very lucrative”.
Michelin award-winner Jackson Boxer broke the sad news his London eatery will be serving its last customers in just weeks.
Orasay, in Notting Hill, will wave goodbye to loyal diners on New Year’s Eve – but it’s not all bad news.
The inventive chef rolled out plans to transform the space into a newer, more inspired restaurant.
Jackson opened Orasay in 2019 and the praised seafood restaurant was winning gongs just three years later.
It was hailed for its “care and attention” sourcing ingredients from UK fishermen and was awarded a Menu of the Year Catey.
But, in Jackson’s closure announcement on Instagram, the chef admitted: “Though we’re busier than we’ve ever been in terms of guests through the door, those guests have considerably less freedom to spend than perhaps they once did, and as such, being unable to raise prices, and being unwilling to work with a cheaper and inferior product, we have decided to imagine a bold new future for ourselves in quite another direction.”
The chef hinted at possible struggles earlier this year when he told The Caterer: “Restaurants have never been more expensive to run.
“Labour costs are very high, food and drink costs are very high, and people don’t have nearly as much money to spend.”
Although designs for the new restaurant have not yet been revealed, Jackson said it “won’t be specialising in fish and seafood”.
“I have a pretty good sense of what it’ll look like, and I’m very excited to return to Notting Hill in the new year to bring it to life,” he added.
Jackson also runs Brunswick House in Vauxhall, Henri in Covent Garden and Below Stone Nest in Soho.
It comes amid a spate of devastating restaurant closures hitting the hospitality industry.
Another top chef suddenly shut down two Michelin-hailed restaurants without warning as fans cried “I thought they’d go on forever”.
Diners were devastated to hear The Gardener’s Cottage, and The Lookout announce their closures out of the blue.
Meanwhile, another TV star opened up about his “lost dream” after shutting an award-winning restaurant.
Top chef Simon Wood said his fine dining establishment WOOD, in Manchester, was forced to close and that “it’s bleak”.
Elsewhere, another restaurant owner was forced to shut his Michelin-starred establishment overnight, claiming the decision was completely out of his hands.
The eatery was boarded up after the landlord “made the decision to close” the doors.
Plus, a chef who worked at one of Jamie Oliver’s restaurants has announced he will shutter his food spot, leaving diners devastated.
Experts say the cost of living crisis has left customers favouring a cheap dinner over splashing out on fancy evenings in expensive restaurants, and this has made celeb chefs think twice about whether it’s worth continuing to run their business.
What is happening to the hospitality industry?
By Laura McGuire, consumer reporter
MANY Food and drink chains have been struggling in recently as the cost of living has led to fewer people spending on eating out.
Businesses had been struggling to bounce back after the pandemic, only to be hit with soaring energy bills and inflation.
Multiple chains have been affected, resulting in big-name brands like Wetherspoons and Frankie & Benny’s closing branches.
Some chains have not survived, Byron Burger fell into administration last year, with owners saying it would result in the loss of over 200 jobs.
Pizza giant, Papa Johns is shutting down 43 of its stores soon.
Tasty, the owner of Wildwood, said it will shut sites as part of major restructuring plans.