Friday Five: The week's top news
"I didn't want to deny myself a normal life": Magnus Nilsson on tackling long-hours culture
While a number of top restaurants have cut opening times to reduce the pressure on staff, Swedish chef Nilsson has taken a more radical approach. At his two-star site Fäviken he has almost doubled prices, expanded the dining room and tripled the number of staff. Is this the future for similar top-end restaurants?
No phone zone - The Waterside Inn pulls the shutters down on Instagram
To 'gram or not to 'gram? The debate about food photography in restaurants has been reignited with reports that The Waterside Inn has put up a sign requesting diners keep their phones in their pockets. Founder Michel Roux said he was 'so upset' about the practice in the three-Michelin-starred dining room. "A picture on a phone cannot possibly capture the flavours," he told The Daily Mail.
A fifth of UK restaurants risk going under
Some 20% of the UK's restaurants, amounting to 14,800 sites, are at risk of going bust due to rising staff costs and the 'fall out of Brexit', according to new research by accountancy firm Moore Stephens. The study says the number of restaurants declaring insolvency has also risen by 13% in the year to March 2017.
Yorkshire Meatball Co ceases trading
In similar sad news The Yorkshire Meatball Co has ceased trading a year after it closed its sole remaining Harrogate restaurant. The family-run brand's meatball range has now been de-listed by Morrisons, and administrators say the company suffered from 'historic losses' from its restaurant operations.
Jason Atherton wins Michelin star in New York
Chef Jason Atherton has won his first US Michelin star - and fourth overall - for his restaurant The Clocktower in New York's Edition Hotel. The menu offers 'modern cuisine with a UK sensibility' with dishes including fish and chips and Lancaster baked chicken with truffle and English muffins. "I couldn't believe it when I found out, I could have cried I was so happy," Atherton wrote on Instagram.
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