Tom Kerridge: “The whole of hospitality is facing a very tough time at the minute.”

Chef and Restaurateur Tom Kerridge has spoken of his despair at facing a near 700% increase in electricity costs for his restaurants.

In an interview with GB News, Tom who owns the two Michelin starred Hand & Flowers and the one Michelin starred The Coach, explained: “The whole of hospitality is facing a very, very difficult time at the minute."

He continued: "There's lots of talk that seven out of ten pubs are not going to survive unless the government does something quite rapidly and announce how they're going to help with the cost of the energy crisis."

Tom who also appears as a judge on the Great British Menu said: “There's many small and wonderful pubs dotted up and down the country, in the centre of towns where the landlord lives upstairs.”

He added: "They may well eke out a bit of a living and may make £25-30,000 pounds a year, just about, but if you've got electricity bills that are doubling, trebling, three or four times it's so hard. Our first quote for our electricity bill at the pub that I'm sitting in right now, it has gone up nearly 700%.”

A BUSINESS PRICE CAP

In an interview during Breakfast with Eamonn Holmes and Isabel Webster, he said: “Obviously, we haven't decided what to do, we’re still looking around. But in those small pubs where the landlord makes a little bit of a living, if all of a sudden they've got an increase of 50, 60, £70,000 a year, then there's no way those pubs are going to be able to operate."

Discussing what measures should be considered by government, Tom argued: “We need to look at what that business price cap is and unfortunately the supply chain also has that problem. The butchers, the fishmongers, the farmers, the veg growers - it is inevitable with food inflation that costs go up."

He added: “At the same time, the guests and the consumer at home has less money because of that food inflation and price inflation, it kind of like pulls everything apart. It's going to be a very, very difficult couple of years.”

£15 SET LUNCH DEAL

Tom’s most recent comments follows an announcement made earlier this month about his plan to launch a £15 two-course set lunch to help with the cost of living.

The inspiration behind the discounted menu came all the way back in the 2008 financial crash when Tom and his wife Beth Cullen Kerridge launched a one-choice lunch menu.

Commenting on this Tom explained "The aim is to get the excitement and buzz back into restaurants without guests having the fear of spending too much money. A taste of the good times at a fraction of the price."