Writing on Fraiche’s Facebook page, the chef-patron says: “The eagle eyed local guests may have noticed the Fraiche signage has been removed and the infamous moon is now down and safely into my back pack.
“This can only mean Fraiche is indeed on the move and I leave Oxton filled with many memories and pride of what I have achieved so far with Fraiche not forgetting the wonderful people I have met along the way.”
“Now it’s time to evolve Fraiche and relocate it to the stunning countryside of Shropshire.”
Wilkinson says that the menu style at the new Shropshire-based Fraiche “will continue at the same high standards” and joked that guests would still “have to suffer Prince on the playlist”. The restaurant will also have a guest room offering accommodation for the first time and offer private parking, “which is such a luxury compared to the gridlocked village I leave behind,” he adds.
The new restaurant is due to open in the summer, with bookings being taken from 1 July on its new website.
Wilkinson announced the closure of Fraiche in June last year saying it would give him “some much needed time and space to explore other projects”.
At the time he also said that the Fraiche name would not be going away. “This is not the end, just simply a change in my direction.”
Wilkinson opened Fraiche in 2004 and the restaurant won a Michelin star in 2009, which it has held ever since. In 2018, he closed the restaurant with the aim of moving to a larger site but later announced he would retain the Rose Mount in Oxton location.
The restaurant closed earlier this month with Andrew Sheridan now taking on the site to open OXA later this year.
