A sad farewell

No sooner had he got into the Michelin guide than Gary Witchalls made the momentous decision to pull out of Epicurus, the pub-restaurant he opened in the Essex village of Blackmore a little over a year ago. It simply wasn't making enough money.

This was confirmation of what had become increasingly apparent in recent months: that running a restaurant with food good enough to win accolades does not guarantee a full house every night.

Witchalls is sad, but convinced that getting out is the right thing to do. "We're still getting positive feedback, but I can't afford to be romantic about this," he says. "I don't believe in flogging a dead horse."

He is already looking for a salaried chef's job, and if he can't find anything suitable, he intends to concentrate on consultancy and providing fine-dining dinner parties for private clients.

Epicurus, based in the Leather Bottle pub, never hit the financial targets Witchalls set himself when he started out. He was aiming to take an average of £6,000 a week, but struggled to make £4,500.

"The business didn't get into debt, but I wasn't making enough for myself. I don't see it as a failure, especially because of the tributes we got for the food. It's just that the money didn't stack up."

In fact, December's business was reasonable - just not good enough.

"December picked up quite well," he says. "It was a good month, but we should have done even better than we did. And I realised after Christmas that, along with everybody else, we were looking at a good few months of a dip."

When he told pub owners James and Gwen Wallace about his intention to pull out, Witchalls found that they, too, were concerned about its profitability.

Under their arrangement, the Wallaces took any profit from drinks while Witchalls relied on the food to make money. He now thinks this was a crucial flaw.

"If I was ever to do this again, it would have to be completely mine - where I had the beverage revenue as well.

"I think I also picked too remote a location. It's beautiful here, but its remoteness means midweek business is seriously reduced. If I did it again, I'd pick somewhere in a town centre."

Although the Epicurus name will go when Witchalls leaves, the restaurant will continue to be run by his restaurant manager, Sarah Goodson, Gwen Wallace's daughter. Witchalls will also be around to advise on the menu and help out where he can.

For the next few weeks he will still be cooking there, but expects to be gone by the end of March. His two-man kitchen team will stay, supplemented by a new head chef, "probably a chef de partie looking for a new opportunity".

"I'll be sad to go," he says, "but I hope the Wallaces understood the reasons."

The story so far

Gary Witchalls has set up a fine-dining restaurant, Epicurus, in the Leather Bottle pub in Blackmore, Essex. The restaurant has already made it into the Good Food and Michelin guides but is struggling to make the money Witchalls had hoped for.

Factfile

Epicurus at the Leather Bottle
The Green, Blackmore, Essex
Tel: 01277 823538

Seats: 55
Projected average weekly turnover: £6,000
Achieved weekly turnover: £4,500