- Wingstop UK has announced plans to open more than 20 new sites this year. Ten new locations have been confirmed so far, with dine-in restaurants opening in Swansea, Newcastle, Lakeside, Streatham and Cardigan Fields in Leeds. Wingstop is also set to launch a delivery kitchen in Brighton.
- An all-you-can-eat lasagna restaurant will open in Shoreditch in February. Set within a former Rossopomodoro site on Rufus Street, Senza Fondo translates as ‘without end’ and will serve unlimited lasagna for £20 a head alongside an a la carte menu of Italian-American comfort food. Other dishes will include fettuccine alfredo; aubergine parmigiana; lasagna pizzette; and grilled wing rib on the bone with beef jus and apple mostarda. Former Hawksmoor and Drake & Morgan employee Joe Worthington is behind the project.
- Northern burger brand Almost Famous has closed its three remaining restaurants citing lingering Covid debt and rising costs. Launched in Manchester’s Northern Quarter in 2012, Almost Famous was an early proponent of the better burger movement becoming well-known across the North West for its towering burgers. Founded by Beau Myers, the group had four restaurants at its peak but its restaurant in the Manchester suburb of Withington closed last year.
- Team UK was ranked fifth place in the Bocuse d’Or World Final in Lyon, held in January. Chefs Tom Phillips and Harry van Lierop competed against 23 other national teams at the 20th anniversary of the high-profile global cooking competition. Team France took gold with candidate Paul Marcon winning thirty years after his father Régis Marcon. France also won the best commis prize. Team Denmark led by Sebastian Holbert Svendsgaard won silver with Sweden taking bronze.
- Miller Prada is departing Michelin-starred Mayfair restaurant HUMO to launch his own restaurant project. The Colombian-born chef launched the St George Street restaurant for Creative Restaurant Group in 2023, with the restaurant winning a Michelin star a year later. Current head chef Robbie Jameson will lead the restaurant’s culinary programme.