Staffing crisis forces London’s Pied à Terre to close at lunchtime

David Moore, the owner of Pied a Terre in Fitzrovia (Daniel Hambury)

One of London’s longest-standing Michelin-starred restaurants is to close for lunch from this weekend because of the acute staffing crisis in the hospitality industry.

David Moore, the owner of Pied a Terre in Fitzrovia, said the “difficult decision” had been taken after losing three chefs earlier this week, leaving only two chefs in the kitchen.

The five-day dinner service will be limited to 45 guests to ensure the kitchen can cope.

Moore said the move was being made “in order to protect the welfare of the team and maintain the high standards of food and service the restaurant is renowned for”.

The lunch closure will last for up to a month while three or four replacement chefs are recruited.

Mr Moore, who this year celebrates the 30th anniversary of the restaurant, said he currently has only 14 staff across the eight shifts the restaurant had been running.

David Moore, the owner of Pied a Terre in Fitzrovia, said the “difficult decision” had been taken after losing three chefs earlier this week, leaving only two chefs in the kitchen (Daniel Hambury)

He said while Covid and furlough “had played a part”, the staff shortage was “firmly down to Brexit”.

He told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “There is a huge shortage out there, the young kids just aren’t there in the numbers they used to be.

“Anecdotally, I placed an ad across all platforms in November for a position in the restaurant and got 800 responses — I placed the very same ad three weeks ago across the same platforms and got seven responses.

“I don’t think anybody realised just how many Europeans were in London and the UK helping our industry along. We’ve been a bit blind-sided by a combination of Brexit and Covid.

“They’ve gone home, perhaps on furlough and just don’t feel welcome to come back.”

He added: “We’ve got some people lined up and I’m hopeful we can be fully staffed and looking to resume lunch service in three to five weeks. But I’m not happy to put dates in the diary until I have boots on the ground.”

This month, Michel Roux Jr said he was being forced to cancel lunch service at the two-Michelin-starred Le Gavroche restaurant in Mayfair and serve dinner only due to staffing levels.

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