Welsh restaurant asks to hand back Michelin star
The site is run by chef proprietor Stephane Borie, his partner Sarah Francis and her sister Kathryn Francis and has held a star since it opened in 2011.
But now the team are turning their back on the award and scrapping their six-course, £65 tasting menu to open The Checkers to a “wider audience”.
The Shropshire Star reports that the last evening service will be 27 October, before the site relaunches as Checkers Pantry in mid-November, offering breakfast, lunch and drinks and cakes.
Borie plans to start working with more private clients across the UK and Europe, while Sarah will lead the kitchen.
It comes less than two weeks ahead of the announcement of the new stars in the 2019 Michelin Guide Great Britain and Ireland on 1 October.
Sarah told The Shropshire Star: “Of course it is tinged with sadness - we have treasured our star for seven years, it is the ultimate benchmark of our trade. To say we are in effect giving it back is huge.
“The change will be friendlier for our families too – all of our children are in school from September, it is the perfect opportunity for us to make a commitment to daytime trade.”
Previous withdrawals
Michelin has only once allowed a restaurant to withdraw from its pages on request, despite several others expressing a wish to do so.
In January the red book let French chef Sebastian Bras, whose Le Suquet restaurant in Laguiole held the maximum three-star rating for 18 years, exit its pages after he admitted to struggling with the pressure that comes with the award.
Scottish hotel Boath House retained its one star last year despite asking to be stripped of the accolade ahead of the publication of the 2018 British edition. It claimed the expectations of Michelin inspectors were ‘at odds with achievable profit margins’.
