- Le Manoir aux Quat’Saisons will close for 18 months from January next year as its founder Raymond Blanc transitions to an ambassadorial role. The Belmond-owned Oxfordshire hotel and restaurant is scheduled to reopen in summer 2027 following an extensive redevelopment. The “strategic redevelopment” will celebrate Le Manoir’s philosophy of garden gastronomy, ensuring the hotel “remains at the forefront of luxury British hospitality for many more decades”.
- The Fat Duck could soon offer smaller portion sizes due to the number of diners on weight loss drugs, according to its founder Heston Blumenthal. The chef says that the popularity of such drugs, which mimic hormones in the body to help regulate blood sugar levels and also suppress a person’s appetite, has come to his attention and that it is something he wants to consider for customers at his three Michelin-starred Bray restaurant.
- Burger King UK has joined forces with chef Gordon Ramsay to launch what it describes as ‘a first of its kind’ product for quick service restaurants. The Wagyu is described as Burger King’s ‘most premium burger to date’ and features a patty made with 100% British wagyu beef that’s flame-grilled and comes served in a seeded brioche bun with a trio of onions – caramelised, pink pickled, and crispy – rocket, and caramelised onion mayonnaise.
- Luke Ahearne is joining forces with fellow chef Stevie Parle to open a large ‘London-Italian’ restaurant in Fitzrovia this October. Set within 1 Pearson Square, formerly home to The Arber Garden, the 150-cover Motorino will showcase seasonal produce from Parle’s “trusted suppliers, farms and friends in the UK and Ireland”.
- The future of Endo Kazutoshi’s Michelin-starred flagship is uncertain following a major fire at The Helios building in West London early on 6 September. The cause of the fire, which took about 100 firefighters to bring under control, is currently unknown.