Friday Five: The week's top news
- TV personality and chef Gino D’Acampo's business is continuing to avoid the woes hitting much of the high street. The chef has plans to launch a new casual dining brand- a brave move, having seen how that worked out for Jamie Oliver.
- Mayfair’s Benares has announced that former chef-patron Atul Kochhar is no longer employed at the restaurant. A statement from the restaurant says that the kitchen will continue to be led by executive chef Brinder Narula, who has been with the company for three years and originally taught Kochhar at the Oberoi culinary school in India in the 1990s.
- Instagram is continuing to expand its operations, having integrated with restaurant reservation platform Quandoo. The new partnership allows users to book restaurants through the photo sharing app.
- Veganism has officially hit Norwich. Trendy vegan restaurant Erpingham House is to launch a Soho House-style members’ club on the third floor of its Norwich site. The restaurant, which launched in April, will open the members’ club in autumn.
- Legendary French chef Joël Robuchon died this week, aged 73. French news organisations reported that the chef passed away on 6 August after a battle with cancer. Le Figaro wrote that Robuchon underwent surgery to remove a pancreatic tumour more than a year ago. Throughout his career he was awarded 32 Michelin stars across 13 countries, the most of any chef in the world.
