Gary Rhodes and Restaurant Associates contract won't be renewed

Gary Rhodes and Restaurant Associates (RA) are to go their separate ways as their contracted partnership concludes after 10 years.

RA, the executive dining arm of Compass Group, has confirmed the amicable split with its associate chef will take place in September.

The Michelin-starred restaurant Rhodes 24, located in Tower 42 of the City of London and run by the chef in association with RA, is expected to be re-opened under a new guise as a result of the contract coming to an end.

A spokesperson for RA said that "now feels like the right time to go our separate ways, develop new relationships and create new, exciting opportunities", and thanked Rhodes for his contribution to the business.

The news comes just months after Rhodes's name was removed from two outlets at London's Cumberland hotel, which he oversaw through an agreement with RA.

Rhodes W1, the fine-dining restaurant that won a Michelin star three and a half years ago, was renamed W1 Restaurant at the Cumberland, while Rhodes W1 Brasserie was rebranded the Brasserie at the Cumberland.

At the time, Rhodes told Caterer and Hotelkeeper that he was now increasingly spending time overseeing his burgeoning restaurant empire in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). "I've probably spent more time here in the past year than I have in England," he said, speaking from Dubai.

Commenting on the conclusion of the contract between Rhodes and RA, a spokesperson for the chef said he is "hugely proud" of what he has achieved through the collaboration, adding: "However, with his new venture Rhodes @ The Dome having recently opened in Plymouth and with the opening of Rhodes 44 at the St Regis in Abu Dhabi later this year, Gary simply felt that it was time to move on after what has been a wonderful decade of culinary success at Rhodes 24."

Meanwhile RA has clarified the actions that took place following a poor hygiene rating was awarded to Rhodes 24 after a recent routine visit from environmental health officers, when the restaurant was awarded zero out of five.

A spokesperson said: "Health and safety is our number one operational priority; we have a very strong health and safety record - 94% of our sites have a five star rating - and we set extremely high standards.

"We were naturally very disappointed with this EHO rating. Remedial actions were put into place immediately and significant steps were taken to rectify all of the issues raised and ensure that the highest standards continue to be maintained."

"We have made changes within our senior leadership team at the Tower and ensured all team members retook their HSE training. In addition we have put in place additional monitoring processes to ensure this situation doesn't arise again."