Chef to punish ‘no-show’ diners by charging them £65 if they fail to turn up for reservation
Masterchef finalist Dean Banks opened his St Andrews restaurant last month
A MASTERCHEF finalist says he will punish "no-show" diners by charging £65 if they fail to show up for their reservation.
Dean Banks, from Arbroath, Angus, lost £1,000 in potential takings in just one day after 14 diners failed to make an appearance last Saturday.
He has called the behaviour of his would-be customers, who accounted for 30 per cent of his bookings, "unacceptable".
The chef is considering introducing a charging scheme with the firm that handles online bookings for the restaurant in St Andrews, Fife.
Prospective customers at Haar, inside the five star Kinnettles Hotel, would be asked for debit or credit card details when making a reservation, and later charged £65 if the booking is not honoured.
Mr Banks said: "I can’t tell you how annoyed I was after Saturday. We’re still trying to get off our feet and become a trusted brand that treats its staff well but something like this has a domino effect."
THREE TABLES LEFT EMPTY
So far the restaurant, which opened at the beginning of April, has received endless praise from food critics.
And the positive reviews meant Mr Banks, who trained at Rick Stein's The Seafood Restaurant, has been fully booked and turned down many table requests.
But he could have accommodated for the hopeful diners had he known so many people would be no-shows.
They included a table of eight, a table of four and another for two.
It's the fourth time in the space of just six weeks that a party of eight has failed to turn up for their booking.
What we’re seeing is golf tour companies booking three restaurants at a time and asking people where they want to eat
Dean Banks
Mr Banks said: ";We could have filled the place five times over on Saturday, but we had to turn people away.
"I think what we’re seeing is golf tour companies booking three restaurants at a time and asking people where they want to eat.
"I’m not going to stand for that, and I’d love to get everyone involved in the hospitality industry in St Andrews to take a stand as well.
"As I said to my general manager, if you want to go see your favourite band at the O2, spend £100 on a ticket, and then decide not to go, you lose your money – restaurants should be exact same."
The charge of £65 is equivalent to a fixed tasting menu at Haar on a Saturday night.
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Mr Banks says he will apply discretion and won't penalise diners with valid reasons for cancelling.
It is not the first time one of Scotland’s top chefs has been forced to take action to deal with AWOL diners.
Last year Mark Greenway started charging £30 per person at his Edinburgh restaurant for people who didn’t show up to lunch bookings and £50 for missed dinner bookings.
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