A RESTAURANT owned by an award-winning chef who featured on the Great British Menu has suddenly closed its doors.
Adam Simmonds’ restaurant Voyage – located at the hotel Megaro in London – has closed with immediate effect, after opening less than a year ago.
Voyage with Adam Simmonds has closed its doors with immediate effect[/caption]
Voyage with Adam Simmonds shut its doors at the King’s Cross hotel yesterday, with Megaro citing a “disappointing” trading performance in amidst a “challenging economic climate“.
The hotel said these reasons had made the operation “unsustainable”, forcing its closure.
In a statement, Megaro said: “Details regarding the future development of the restaurant space will be shared in due course.
“The team would like to thank all guests, partners and supporters for their patronage and encouragement throughout Voyage’s journey.”
The minimalist, Scandinavian-inspired restaurant opened in January, offering a tasting menu priced at £115 for seven courses or at £85 for five courses.
This was alongside an à la carte menu, including carrot four ways with buckwheat and yeast for £32 and lobster with razor clams, caviar and nettle for £45.
Simmonds had joined the hotel as chef patron in May last year, after previously running kitchens at the Capital hotel and Belmond Cadogan in London.
He was also previously executive chef at Danesfield House in Marlow, Buckinghamshire, for six years, where he won Chef of the Year (for fewer than 250 covers) at the 2011 Hotel Cateys awards.
Simmonds appeared on the Great British Menu in 2014, winning his heat for London and the South East during the ninth season.
In the final, Simmonds won best starter dish for his plate entitled “Your Share” – a chicken consommé with celeriac.
The chef’s long and storied career began at 14, when he was one of only two boys in his school’s home economics class.
He first entered the kitchen just two years later, working as a pot washer and sandwich maker in a pub in Leighton Buzzard before moving to London at age 18.
Simmonds worked at the likes of Le Gavroche, The Ritz Restaurant, Burts, The Halkin, Les Saveurs and L’Escargot before leaving the capital.
He joined Paul Heathcote at Heathcotes in Manchester as sous chef before moving to Le Manoir aux Quat’Saisons, where he spent three years with Raymond Blanc, moving from Chef de Partie to sous chef.
Adam’s first head chef position was at The Greenway in Cheltenham, before he then joined Ynyshir Hall, which gained a Michelin star in 2006.
In January 2007, Adam moved to Danesfield House near Marlow where he was head chef for 7 years – the restaurant was renamed Adam Simmonds at Danesfield House in January 2010.
It won numerous awards, including a Michelin star and four rosettes in the AA Restaurant Guide.
Why are retailers closing stores?
RETAILERS have been feeling the squeeze since the pandemic, while shoppers are cutting back on spending due to the soaring cost of living crisis.
High energy costs and a move to shopping online after the pandemic are also taking a toll, and many high street shops have struggled to keep going.
However, additional costs have added further pain to an already struggling sector.
The British Retail Consortium has predicted that the Treasury’s hike to employer NICs from April will cost the retail sector £2.3billion.
At the same time, the minimum wage will rise to £12.21 an hour from April, and the minimum wage for people aged 18-20 will rise to £10 an hour, an increase of £1.40.
The Centre for Retail Research (CRR) has also warned that around 17,350 retail sites are expected to shut down this year.
It comes on the back of a tough 2024 when 13,000 shops closed their doors for good, already a 28% increase on the previous year.
Professor Joshua Bamfield, director of the CRR said: “The results for 2024 show that although the outcomes for store closures overall were not as poor as in either 2020 or 2022, they are still disconcerting, with worse set to come in 2025.”
It comes after almost 170,000 retail workers lost their jobs in 2024.
End-of-year figures compiled by the Centre for Retail Research showed the number of job losses spiked amid the collapse of major chains such as Homebase and Ted Baker.
It said its latest analysis showed that a total of 169,395 retail jobs were lost in the 2024 calendar year to date.
This was up 49,990 – an increase of 41.9% – compared with 2023.
It is the highest annual reading since more than 200,000 jobs were lost in 2020 in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic, which forced retailers to shut their stores during lockdowns.
The centre said 38 major retailers went into administration in 2024, including household names such as Lloyds Pharmacy, Homebase, The Body Shop, Carpetright and Ted Baker.
Around a third of all retail job losses in 2024, 33% or 55,914 in total, resulted from administrations.
Experts have said small high street shops could face a particularly challenging 2025 because of Budget tax and wage changes.
Professor Bamfield has warned of a bleak outlook for 2025, predicting that as many as 202,000 jobs could be lost in the sector.
“By increasing both the costs of running stores and the costs on each consumer’s household it is highly likely that we will see retail job losses eclipse the height of the pandemic in 2020.”
This comes after a Channel 4 star chef made the decision to close his restaurant for good after just three months.
Chef Dom Taylor will close Marvee’s Food Shop in Ladbroke Grove, West London, due to “unforeseen circumstances” at the end of this month.
The Caribbean restaurant just opened in May as part of the music and events space UNDR, near the famous Portobello Road.
Taylor rose to fame as the winner of Channel 4’s Five Star Kitchen: Britain’s Next Great Chef.
In a message on Instagram, Taylor said: “Due to unforeseen circumstances, Marvee’s Food Shop at UNDR will soon be coming to an end, after some fun this Carnival Weekend.
“We have a few remaining tables this Friday 22nd and Saturday 23rd, so make sure to come along and say your farewells (for now)!
“From 27th onwards the chefs who have been working with Dom at UNDR will continue serving up their own menu of Caribbean food, following the success of Marvee’s so make sure to keep showing them your love!
“UNDR was the first home for Marvee’s Food Shop, and we have loved welcoming all of our wonderful guests over the past few months. Watch this space!”
Simmonds’ restaurant had opened less than a year ago[/caption]