Michelin-starred Restaurant Tristan has closed after 14 years

Michelin-starred Restaurant Tristan in Horsham has closed after 14 years, as chef owner Tristan Mason said he has "Lost [his] momentum"

The restaurant shut temporarily in March to undergo refurbishments and was set to reopen after six weeks, but the chef told Sussex Express that 'personal issues coincided with rising costs and staffing difficulties'.

"It was an accumulation of all these things," he said. "It’s not like the business was doing badly, the business is on the up. It’s quitting while I’m ahead."

“It’s a good business. It has continued to grow since the day I first opened the doors and it has been busier than ever since the lifting of Covid lockdown restrictions."

'It's a life-changing decision but it's one that has not been taken lightly'

But after 14 years, he continued, "I feel I have done everything I possibly could. It’s been a great journey. I’ve met brilliant people, there have been loads of ups – and downs – but I wouldn’t change any of it for the world.”

Apologising to his customers, he promised to be in touch when he had worked his way through "hundreds of emails."

Tristan Mason opened his eponymous restaurant in 2008, achieving a Michelin star in 2013 and retaining it ever since. Prior to launching the Horsham site, he trained at The Mirabelle under Marco Pierre White, earned his first star at The Hare in Berkshire and briefly worked at The Orrery in London, leaving after it lost its star a year later.

Asked what he might endeavour to do next, he told the local newspaper that while the restaurant "has been everything to me and my family," a change of career was on the cards.

"I love Horsham, I love the customers. I love the restaurant – I love it all but what’s happened with everything, I’ve lost my momentum.

"I’m burnt out from it all. I have been doing this for half my life, I’m not the first person to have a career change – or not as the case may be.

"It’s a life-changing decision but it’s one that has not been taken lightly. This has been on my mind for quite some time." 

The news comes just a day after chef patron of Casamia in Bristol Peter Sanchez-Iglesiaz announced the imminent closure of the Michelin-starred restaurant, stating that rising costs have rendered the restaurant "financially unviable."