Heartbroken MasterChef star tells of ‘lost dream’ after shutting award-winning restaurant and warns ‘it’s bleak’

A DEVASTATED MasterChef prima opened up astir his "lost dream" aft shutting an award-winning restaurant.

Top cook Simon Wood said his good eating constitution WOOD, successful Manchester, was forced to adjacent and that "it's bleak".

The 48-year-old blamed the misfortune connected rent arrears, soaring bills and ingredients costs successful October past month.

In airy of the announcement, Simon has opened up much astir his heartbreaking loss, aft archetypal welcoming customers 7 years ago.

He shared an affectional video of the bare edifice but encouraged foodies to support supporting the manufacture by eating out.

Under the post, uploaded connected X, Simon wrote: "A look wrong a dream, lived, mislaid and loved. It’s important to look astatine the present, but not to clasp connected to the past…. I lived and loved @WoodRestaurants Thank you to everyone who supported us. Please Keep supporting local, independents are someone’s life, their everything.

"Back your independents Manchester, it’s a bleak spot without them, conscionable bare spaces….Big Love."

Simon's fans and loyal customers flooded the station with enactment and hailed the chef.

One wrote: "Simon, Congratulations connected specified a occurrence story. If astatine immoderate constituent you consciousness yourself getting down betwixt this doorway closing and different opening consciousness escaped to scope out.

"I person a beauteous quiescent spot successful the Yorkshire Dales, Free to unbend and with wide headspace."

Someone other said: "This evening portion your awake cognize you achieved a imagination that years agone you wanted and made happen.

"In your sadness of having to adjacent for present instrumentality comfortableness for the beauteous nutrient we enjoyed and the accidental to employment those you did."

"Great edifice Great Food , Team was Great and the cook wasn’t excessively bad," penned a third.

"Onwards and decidedly upwards. Will beryllium watching with involvement to the adjacent adventure. Stay beardown Chef!"

Others said it was a "huge loss" for the Manchester culinary scene.

The dada of four, from Saddleworth, opened his self-titled bistro successful 2017, creating dishes with "seasonal, precocious payment and foraged" produce.

Guests could expect to fork retired £125 for his "Chef's Selection Menu" and vino formation - which featured veal sweetbreads and hand-dived scallops.

The restaurant's website was inactive advertizing its £60 per caput Christmas paper erstwhile Simon took to social media to accidental it had unopen for good.

Writing successful a station connected Facebook, helium said: "Dear Friends, Customers and Suppliers of WOOD Manchester.

"It is with overmuch regret that I person to pass you that I indispensable adjacent the doors present astatine WOOD for good, with contiguous effect.

"We person had 7 years arsenic portion of the Manchester City eating country and I'm precise arrogant of what the squad and I person achieved.

"Sadly with COVID rent arrears present being demanded by our landlord and an progressively hard marketplace, vigor increases, constituent costs and soon-to-be spiralling concern rates we conscionable cannot marque this work.

"I'd similar to convey everyone for your enactment and patronage implicit the years."

Simon was a information idiosyncratic for astir 20 years earlier helium discontinue his occupation and took connected a vocation successful hospitality.

He became a nonrecreational cook aged 38 successful 2015 erstwhile helium won the amateur mentation of MasterChef.

Simon past went connected to unfastened WOOD Manchester successful 2017 and WoodKraft, in Cheltenham, successful 2018.

WOOD Manchester was Michelin-recommended successful 2019 and has won the treble AA Rosette award.

Last year, Simon said acclaimed shows like The Bear, which revealed the struggles faced by galore successful the hospitality industry, gave chefs the respect they "deserved".

He said: "I person seen each the things that hap connected these shows astatine immoderate constituent - adjacent successful the abstraction of 40 minutes.

"People emotion the play that comes with high-end hospitality, and I deliberation it's each shown successful play TV programmes similar The Bear and Boiling Point.

"It tin beryllium conscionable arsenic aggravated successful existent life.

"You get stressful moments wherever each the cheques get astatine once, oregon idiosyncratic drops the sauce, burns the nutrient and cuts their fingers.

"The flare-ups betwixt each different [are realistic].

"Also, astir decidedly the shouting, swearing, earthy intensity, you spot successful these programmes, I think, is each precise factual - It's existent to the beingness of a functioning kitchen."

It comes arsenic different cook was forced to adjacent down his Michelin-starred restaurant conscionable months aft it mislaid its star.

Leroy, successful Leonard Street, Shoreditch, sadly announced its closure aft 7 years of serving devoted fans.

The abrupt closure highlights the ongoing struggles faced by the UK hospitality sector, which has been deed hard by soaring costs and dwindling support.

Elsewhere, different edifice proprietor was forced to unopen his Michelin-starred constitution overnight, claiming the determination was wholly retired of his hands.

The eatery was boarded up aft the landlord "made the determination to close" the doors.

Plus, a cook who worked astatine 1 of Jamie Oliver's restaurants has announced helium volition shutter his nutrient spot, leaving diners devastated.

Meanwhile, former Masterchef finalist Tony Rodd was forced to adjacent his restaurant in Blackheath whilst Michel Roux Jr closed the doors connected his iconic edifice Gavroche successful January aft 56 years successful business.

Experts accidental the cost of living crisis has near customers favouring a inexpensive meal implicit splashing retired connected fancy evenings retired successful costly restaurants, and this has made celeb chefs deliberation doubly astir whether it's worthy continuing to tally their business.