MasterChef winner shuts down city restaurant

Simon Wood said he hoped the restaurant could make a return in the future

A MasterChef winner has closed his fine dining restaurant over financial pressures that mean his team "just cannot make this work".

Restaurateur Simon Wood announced Wood Manchester, his self-titled eatery in the city centre, would shut with immediate effect on Monday after seven years in business.

He said "an increasingly difficult marketplace", the rising cost of bills and ingredients and rent arrears built up over the pandemic all contributed to the decision.

The chef also hit out what he said was an "outrageous" attitude from some customers after a table of five "no showed" without notice.

Posting on X, he showed a photo of an empty table alongside the message "what a way to support a small business".

The restaurant opened in Manchester city centre in 2017

Wood Manchester was opened on Jack Rosenthal Street in the First Street complex in 2017 by the chef, a former data manager who won the BBC MasterChef series in 2015.

In a statement, he said it was with "much regret I must close the doors here at WOOD for good".

He also thanked customers, staff and suppliers for their support and said he was "very proud of what the team and I have achieved".

Wood said the restaurant had been a "proud part of the Manchester food scene", and said he hoped it could "return in the future".