Coronavirus: ‘My industry wants to go back to work, we can do this, but we need clear guidelines’

Following Boris Johnson’s latest announcement, Michelin-starred Marcus Wareing, who is chef patron at Marcus in London, spoke to Sky news saying, ‘our industry is on the verge of collapse’.

On yesterday’s speech he said: "I thought it was a perfect opportunity to give us a little bit more meat on the bone, it would have been nice to have a bit more from him about the big picture.

"I am incredibly nervous about the future, I have no clue how to deal with social distancing in a kitchen or in hospitality.

"For me and my colleagues in the industry, we need some guidelines and we need it soon.”

The MasterChef: The Professionals judge admitted he is worried for his own health and his staff and customers.

“It's really a scary thing to think we're going to have to go to work in a kitchen which is very much an open playing field where staff are very much a team, they're connecting with each other, they're tasting food,” he explained.

"You're putting food on a plate which gets carried by a waiter and that food is then put in front of the customer. "Social distancing does not work in hospitality."

He did praise the furlough scheme and stated if it continues ‘but decreases the industry "would accept that"’. The big worry remains for those in the industry, of how restaurants will open with 50% capacity or less in order to comply with social distancing rules – the tight margins they already work on make this impossible for many.

Marcus told Sky News: "You've got your wages, your rent, your bills, your staff, the maths do not add up.

"Our industry is on the verge of collapse."

Read the full story: www.news.sky.com