English chef shuts Michelin restaurant after French snub

AN English pupil of chef Raymond Blanc has failed in his bid to sell Gallic cooking back to the French and has had to shut his restaurant.

Richard Neat earned two Michelin stars for his central London restaurant Pied Terre, but could not repeat his success when he opened a restaurant in Cannes.

The 35-year-old chef blames anti-English feelings for the lack of interest which forced him to close his one-star Michelin restaurant. "I had some very regular customers who loved the restaurant, but yes, some of the French public stayed away because I am English," he said.

Mr Neat's London restaurant earned him two Michelin stars in four years before he sold out in 1996. The French restaurant, NEAT, also won a Michelin star, but Mr Neat, originally from Slough, said this wasn't enough to attract the French.

His business partner Robert Saunders added: "They have a real phobia about the English. They have this idea that they are better lovers than we are, and that they are better chefs.

"The product was right. They were just blind to it and I am sure it was because Richard is English."

However, Geraldine Haudricourt, spokesman for the town hall in Cannes, denied any prejudice, saying: "We are very sorry the restaurant did not work out, but I can assure you the people of Cannes have nothing against foreign chefs."

After reviewing Mr Neat's cooking in Cannes, Evening Standard's Fay Maschler said: "There is something irresistibly appealing about the thought of an unwary French diner at NEAT discovering that his close-on impeccable meal has been cooked by a Brit."

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