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Dinner by Heston was once one of the world’s most revered restaurants, known for its decadent and unusual dishes such as the “meat fruit”.
But Heston Blumenthal announced this week that he is winding down operations at the two Michelin-star restaurant at the Mandarin Oriental hotel in Knightsbridge, London, saying it was because the tenancy had “finished”.
However, current and former workers at Dinner claim the restaurant has been going downhill for years after Blumenthal fell out with his right-hand man, Ashley Palmer-Watts, who created the menu and ran the restaurant day to day before he left the business.
“Closing the restaurant was not Heston’s choice whatsoever,” a senior source from the Mandarin Oriental told the Guardian. “The hotel chose not to renew the lease.
“It never performed particularly well after Ashley left, which is shocking as it was potentially the busiest and most successful two Michelin-star restaurant in the world. It went off the boil. When Ashley left, so did most of the core team.”
He claimed the restaurant was “empty” on Sunday lunchtimes “which was extraordinary. If it’s not successful, even with two stars, it’s not bringing any money in, then, difficult decisions have to be made.”
A representative for Blumenthal disputed that the restaurant was underperforming, adding that it was a “highly regarded and popular part of our portfolio”.
Blumenthal’s restaurant group, which includes the three Michelin-star Fat Duck in Bray as well as the Hind’s Head pub, has also been struggling with debts. Last year, SL6 Ltd, the company behind the restaurants, posted a £2.1m loss, up from £1.4m the previous year. Directors at the company blamed “wage inflation” and “economic uncertainties” that “affect customers’ willingness to spend their disposable income” in the restaurant’s annual accounts. Last month, HMRC issued a winding-up petition against the firm.
Blumenthal’s spokesperson said these accounts did not relate to Dinner by Heston, the finances of which were managed by the Mandarin Oriental, and added: “The SL6 payment to HMRC was paid in full, and the petition has been withdrawn.”
Palmer-Watts has not seen or spoken to Blumenthal since he left Dinner. He is now working on projects including the award-winning London pub the Devonshire, which he co-owns and designed the menu for, and his own spirits line.
He learned the restaurant he founded was closing after reading about it in the press. “I thought it was a bittersweet moment because I had amazing times there creating that thing and it was an incredible experience,” he said. “It was a brilliant project and I loved it.”
Palmer-Watts said he was pleased it kept going for so long after he left, adding: “I haven’t been there for six years and it still maintained its Michelin stars, and I think I can be proud that means I put down really good foundations in place that held it in good stead.”
Sources at the hotel claimed they were planning to close it down last year, but Blumenthal asked if it could stay open until January 2027, in order to celebrate its 16th anniversary. The Mandarin Oriental is in talks with top chefs including Jason Atherton and Anne-Sophie Pic to take over the space, the Guardian understands.
A spokesperson for Blumenthal said: “The contract was always due to conclude in July 2026. Together with Mandarin Oriental Hyde Park, London, we agreed a six-month extension until January 2027, and jointly decided not to extend beyond that point.”
Blumenthal was a pioneer of new ways of cooking, creating world-famous dishes including bacon and egg ice-cream and snail porridge, but also popularised triple-cooked chips and scotch eggs with a runny yolk; recipes which have been taken up by pubs nationwide. He also invented the use of liquid nitrogen in culinary settings, and popularised sous vide cooking.
Palmer-Watts helped him make his ideas a reality, for example the snail porridge came about because Blumenthal tried to make a snail sausage. However, when the pair cut into it, it had no structural integrity and the contents spilled into a puddle on the plate. Palmer-Watts suggested making it into a congee-type porridge instead, inspired by his travels in Asia.
Several chefs who worked at the restaurant told the Guardian they rarely saw Blumenthal at Dinner, and that the day-to-day management was by Palmer-Watts, who was responsible for “translating” Blumenthal’s ideas into dishes that could be served to hundreds of diners a day.
“Dinner was Ashley’s baby really, he was amazing,” said Will Murray, who worked at Dinner before opening his own restaurants, Fallow, Roe and Fowl.
“Working with Ashley at Dinner turned me from a completely undisciplined but passionate cook, to being a proper, disciplined chef,” he added. “Ashley, before he left, was the leader, our mentor.”
Blumenthal said: “The suggestion that Dinner declined because of a falling out between Ashley and me simply isn’t accurate. Ashley and I had a long and successful working relationship, and I have a great deal of respect for him and the contribution he made to Dinner by Heston and to the wider business. He left the company in 2020, which was six years ago. Restaurants evolve over time for many different reasons, but it would be wrong to attribute that to a personal dispute.”
Chefs from the restaurant claimed there were disagreements between Blumenthal and the management of the Mandarin Oriental. They also noticed the restaurant’s star starting to fade when a host of controversies hit Blumenthal, including a creditors’ report in Australia that claimed the sister Dinner restaurant cheated workers out of $4.5m (£2.4m).
“I’m really sad it’s fallen on such hard times,” said a chef who worked at Dinner for years. “It wasn’t without its problems, the group has been struggling and there were big issues with leadership.”
Another added: “We just tried to keep our heads down in the kitchen and not engage with any of the drama going on. There was mismanagement.”
They claimed the restaurant also experienced downturns when Blumenthal lost his regular television gig on Channel 4, which had kept the chef and his restaurant in the public eye. “We didn’t really do much on Instagram or social media, Heston preferred to keep an exclusive feel but that doesn’t bring in customers these days,” one chef said.
Blumenthal’s spokesperson added: “There is no basis for claims of mismanagement or leadership failures. Dinner by Heston has maintained Michelin recognition and an international reputation for excellence throughout its residency.”
