That Was The Week That Was

So another week and another high flying Cape Town restaurant closes it’s doors. Nova, the gastronomic palace overseen by South Africa’s very own molecular chef, Richard Carstens, is calling it a day. At first glance it seems that the recession has claimed another victim, that there just aren’t enough well heeled punters around to sustain a restaurant where your bill can come in at R 400 before you have a chance to wet your lips. I think that there aren’t enough punters in Cape Town’s fickle restaurant going jet set who want to pay that sort of money for self indulgent ent chemical experiments. The dishes may have been technically very clever but in this economy the name of the game is recognizable food at value for money prices, that’s why Bruce Robertson is serving Bunny Chows and not foams and essence of lettuce.



Also this week poor old Gordo was also feeling the pinch a little as profits collapsed by over 80% creating his own kitchen nightmare. The man who is so fond of telling other people how to run their restaurants has come face to face with his own F word – Finance! According to Ramsay's latest business accounts for 2007-2008, published yesterday, the Scots business mogul, who has closed several of his restaurants, has seen profits for Gordon Ramsay Holdings (GRH) fall from £3.05m to £383,325. Ramsay's business model was also damaged by the closure of key London restaurants. The Savoy Grill was shut because of refurbishment at its host hotel, while the Connaught lease expired, which accounted for a £9.5m reduction in revenues. A statement from the firm said that after a restructuring it was confident the group had "successfully undergone change for the better" and was now "well-placed to grow its operation with a more stable capital base and a more manageable overall structure". Since December 2007, Ramsay has closed four of his capital city restaurants, including Petrus and La Noisette. The other closures were The Connaught and the Savoy Grill. Thank heavens for TV eh?



But it’s not all bad news for restaurants in these troubled times. People are turning to chocolate to make things feel a little better and in New York a new restaurant, themed on chocolate, announced it’s opening. Who doesn't love chocolate? Max Brenner certainly does and he is behind a new all-chocolate restaurant opening up next week on Walnut Street called "Max Brenner, Chocolate by the Bald Man." Menu items obviously include the best hot chocolate in town along with a chocolate pizza. The restaurant has been described as an adults' Willa Wonka factory, but you can get food too, so you can feel sensible.