100 jobs lost as Jamie’s Fifteen shuts its doors

JAMIE Oliver’s Fifteen restaurant in Cornwall – one of his last remaining UK establishments – has shut down.

The announcement was made yesterday with immediate effect following an independent financial review.

The restaurant, which is near Newquay, used the celebrity chef’s name under licence but is owned and run by the Cornwall Food Foundation.

Around 70 workers at the restaurant and a further 30 who work at the foundation will lose their jobs.

The closure comes only months after the collapse of Oliver’s 25-strong UK restaurant business, including the Jamie’s Italian chain, Fifteen in London and Barbecoa. Around 1,000 jobs were lost.

Oliver said he was ‘very surprised and saddened’ to hear the news. He added: ‘The team has done an amazing job with the trainee programme, training over 200 chefs and reaching so many more along the way – so this is a huge blow.’

Fifteen Cornwall said two thirds of the apprentices it had trained since 2006 were still working in the restaurant trade and many had set up businesses.

Matthew Thomson, Cornwall Food Foundation chief executive, said: ‘This is an incredibly sad day for everyone and we will try our best to support those who have been impacted.’