Tom Sellers' contract with Restaurant Ours ends
Chef and restaurateur Tom Sellers' culinary consultancy contract with Restaurant Ours in London is to finish at the end of this month.
The news came as it emerged that the business entered administration and pre-packaged sale earlier this year. There is no suggestion that there is a link between the two.
Sellers was brought on board as an advisor and culinary director to oversee the menus at the venue, which opened on 19 May 2016.
The 120-cover European-inspired restaurant took over the site previously home to the Collection at 264 Brompton Road, serving classic and contemporary dishes.
He will retain a place on the board at the restaurant, although he is not expected to have any further involvement in its day-to-day operations.
The company originally behind the business, Restaurant Ours Ltd, called in administrators in March. It is owned by Domrade Global Ltd, a company registered in the British Virgin Islands.
Describing the background to the administration, insolvency firm BM Advisory, said: "Unfortunately trade did not reach the levels that had been forecasted and following a period of poor trade, the company failed to meet payments to creditors including HM Revenue & Customs and payments in respect of business rates."
As at 24 March 2017, Restaurant Ours Ltd owed just over £673,000 to creditors, including more than £36,000 to Best Wine London Ltd, and £244,000 to HMRC, according to documents filed at Companies House.
As a result, BM Advisory was called in to advise on possible options for restructuring the business and aimed for a pre-packaged sale after determining that Restaurant Outs Ltd could not be traded in administration and sold as a going concern due to the lack of available working capital.
Eventually, Restaurant 264 Ltd made an offer for the business. It is run by Sam Sedecias, who previously acted as a consultant to the company. R264's offer was £57,000 for the business and assets as a going concern. The restaurant is still trading as normal.
Restaurant Ours was the focus of a public spat between Sellers and Evening Standard restaurant reviewer Fay Maschler.
Maschler penned a less than positive review of Restaurant Ours criticising the menu design, the food, service, pricing and even staff uniforms, although she did like the chips. She awarded it just one star out of five.
But Sellers hit back with a review of the reviewer on his blog, seeking to correct what he saw as inaccuracies and throwing out a few brickbats of his own. He gained support on social media from fellow chefs and members of the public alike in the process.
A statement about the end of Sellers' official involvement in the restaurant said: "Chef/restaurateur Tom Sellers will complete his culinary consultancy contract with Restaurant Ours in London at the end of June 2017. He will then take up a more general role on the restaurant's board, as that business develops.
"Tom is concentrating on his Michelin-starred Restaurant Story in Bermondsey, London, and his Sussex pub, The Lickfold Inn, and is in final negotiation on a new project in Asia, but no further details on this are available just yet."
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