Bankruptcy for one of the top chefs in Wales
ONE OF Cardiff’s best-known chefs has been declared bankrupt. Stephen James Gomes was the chef behind the experimental and muchlauded Moksh Indian restaurant in Cardiff Bay.
Mr Gomes, of Paget Street in Cardiff, was declared bankrupt in a notice published on the official record, The Gazette. The order was published on December 24.
Mr Gomes was linked to several businesses registered with Companies House – Moksh Spice Limited, Moksh Restaurants Limited, One Restaurants Cardiff Ltd and SG Group Holdings Ltd – all with addresses c/o Moksh, Ocean Building, Bute Crescent, Cardiff, United Kingdom, CF10 5AN.
He was listed as director of all four but resigned from each post on September 1 last year, according to Companies House records.
Moksh closed suddenly in August, with Mr Gomes telling WalesOnline the closure was to enable the restaurant to relocate to a “bigger better location across the street” – a move he’d originally planned to make in 2017. The restaurant reopened across the road from the original premises.
He also spoke of plans for another restaurant called 101, which was to apply his quirky gastro-physics take on cookery to more traditional Welsh and British dishes.
Mr Gomes has been contacted for comment.
Moksh restaurant was asked to comment as to whether Mr Gomes was still involved with the restaurant but declined to comment.
Last year Mr Gomes said he closed Gourmet Guru – his 2017 Mumbai street food takeover of the former Pizza Pronto concession – in order to have as many hands on deck as possible for the Moksh move.
The 43-year-old was crowned the Outstanding Asian and Oriental Chef of the Year at the Asian and Oriental Chef Awards in London in 2017.