Restaurant Richard Wilkins closes

Restaurant Richard Wilkins in Buckhurst Hill, Essex, has closed as Wilkins and his team have left the business.

The restaurant opened late last year with the help of three unnamed shareholders who put up £100,000 to help chef Richard Wilkins to convert what was once a clothes shop into a 26-seat restaurant.

Wilkins had hoped to win over the locals with his uncompromising take on French fine dining but fewer than six months since it first launched, it has now closed its doors again.

He has previously worked at Gordon Ramsay at Pétrus in London; Trianon Palace Versailles in France; the three-Michelin-starred Waterside Inn in Bray, Berkshire; and Maison Pic in Valence, France.

Earlier this year, Wilkins explained that although the restaurant had been busy on Friday and Saturday for dinner, weekend lunchtimes and midweek dinners had been more of a struggle.

The investors are now understood to be trying to sell the lease and the equipment in the property.

Wilkins told The Caterer that he now hopes to find new backers to invest in another project.

The Caterer was unable to contact Restaurant Richard Wilkins' investors.

Menuwatch: Restaurant Richard Wilkins >>

Chef Richard Wilkins to open first solo restaurant >>

Restaurant insolvencies rise 7% >>