Heston Blumenthal’s posh Fat Duck restaurant forced to shut after staff test positive for Covid
HESTON Blumenthal's posh Fat Duck restaurant has been forced to shut after staff tested positive for coronavirus.
The three Michelin star Berkshire venue reportedly turned away bookings at the last minute, with one eager diner claiming he was told at the door last night.
⚠️ Read our coronavirus live blog for the latest news & updates
They told the Sun: "We booked our meal months ago because it’s my wife’s birthday.
"We arrived tonight and the general manager stood outside and they said due to an outbreak of Covid [they had closed].
“They told us that they had been trying to contact us today but we’ve had no messages, no missed calls, no voicemails, no nothing.
“Don’t get me wrong if they’ve had an outbreak of Covid there’s nothing they could have done."
The couple have been left £500 out of pocket after putting down a deposit to eat at the famous restaurant fronted by Blumenthal.
They were told the restaurant would be in contact about rebooking, with the would-be diner adding: "And then we had to eat in their other restaurant which cost £300 so effectively we paid £800 to have a pub dinner."
He said the £255-per-head restaurant staff were very apologetic, but he and his wife were thoroughly disappointed.
The source said if they had been told earlier in the day they could have made cheaper alternative arrangements.
COVID CLOSURE
He lamented: “Because they get booked up so quickly we can't see ourselves getting another booking now until after Christmas.
“We went on a week’s staycation and this whole week was booked around going to this dinner. My wife was just very disappointed.”
The Fat Duck had only reopened on August 15 after closing in line with the national lockdown.
A spokesperson said: “These are hugely unprecedented and difficult times and since we reopened The Fat Duck in August, we have stringently followed all of the Government’s Covid safety advice and guidelines.
"As part of this, to continuously monitor the safety of our staff and our guests, we have been proactively testing our full team on a regular basis.
Unfortunately in the past few days, a number of employees have returned positive tests, which has resulted in them self-isolating at home.
"At The Fat Duck we pride ourselves on providing the very best experience but more important is the wellbeing of our staff and guests which always comes first.
Most read in News
"We have therefore decided to close the restaurant as of 14th October for the mandatory two-week self-isolation period. We have made this proactive decision which we hope will act as a circuit-breaker and ensure Covid-19 doesn’t spread to our other staff.
READ MORE SUN STORIES
We want to be in front of the situation so we are working closely with the relevant organisations and local authorities and will continue to monitor the situation during these next two weeks, taking all the necessary steps to minimise risk to anyone else in the business.”
The restaurant headed by the famous chef has been awarded three Michelin stars, restaurant of the year, Best Restaurant in the World and Best Restaurant in the UK.
