Masterchef judge Monica Galetti has revealed she is closing her London restaurant Mere seven years after it opened – becoming the latest celebrity to shut down amid Britain’s hospitality crisis.
She and her husband David Galetti will serve for the last time at the eatery in Fitzrovia, central London, next Tuesday, they announced today.
The move comes amid warnings about the struggles faced by Britain’s hospitality industry, following a series of similar closures.
Galetti, 48, said the couple had taken the decision ‘with heavy hearts’ but insisted it was ‘the right time’ to bow out.
The restaurant was recommended in the latest Michelin Guide published in February.
The move comes as hospitality leaders warned many operators were running out of money and other TV chefs including Simon Rimmer have also closed venues.
In a statement on the restaurant’s website and on Instagram, Mere’s owners today said: ‘It is with heavy hearts that we announce the closure of Mere restaurant- but we feel this is the right time after seven years.’
They thanked catering company Westbury Street Holdings’ chairman Alastair Storey for backing Mere, as well as ‘everyone who has supported us and our loyal patrons and dedicated staff throughout this journey’.
They added: ‘To our customers we thank you for your loyal and joyous visits. We hope to raise one last glass together before we close.’
The couple met when working together at Le Gavroche in Mayfair and Mere was to prove their first major joint project of their own.
Since last September, Mere’s head chef has been Sven-Hanson Britt after his Oxeye restaurant in London finished trading.
Galetti spent 14 years as a judge on the BBC’s Masterchef before quitting in 2022.
She revealed at the time she felt as if she needed to ‘split into four people’ in order to juggle her work and family commitments.
She told Good Housekeeping: ‘I was in tears over it because it’s been 14 years of my life. Something had to give, though.’
In an earlier statement in April that year, she told of wanting to focus more on Mere as well as her family – including her daughter Anaïs, then 14, and 15-year-old nephew Otis who was being treated for cancer.
She said then: ‘It is with a heavy heart that I’ve made this decision to step back from filming this year’s series of MasterChef: The Professionals.
‘My family need me, my restaurant needs me and trying to balance long filming days over the next three months with all these commitments meant that something had to give.
‘So, for the moment, my focus has to be 100 per cent about my loved ones and rebuilding my kitchen team who have had a battering over the last few months especially.
‘Those in the hospitality industry know just how tough it is at the moment.’
American Samoa-born Galetti did return to Masterchef last year, and has also presented Amazing Hotels: Life Behind The Lobby with Rob Rinder and Giles Coren.
No reason was given for the closure announced today, though a recent hospitality industry survey suggested a quarter of operators no longer had any cash reserves.
Pressure in recent years has come from the Covid-19 pandemic, which forced venues to shut or impose restrictions in lockdown, as well as the rising cost of living.
A joint poll by UKHospitality, the British Beer and Pub Association, British Institute of Innkeeping and Hospitality Ulster revealed last month the increased cost challenges.
Sunday Brunch host and Strictly star Simon Rimmer told in January of being ‘heartbroken’ to be closing his vegetarian restaurant after more than three decades.
The celebrity chef, 60, took to social media to announce he was closing one of his Greens eateries in Didsbury, Greater Manchester, after landlords hiked his rent by more than a third and costs rendered the business ‘unviable’.
Nico Simeone founded his concept restaurant chain Six By Nico in 2017 but shut his Liverpool venue in 2022 and has since filed a High Court claim over its closure.
Former Bake Off: The Professionals host Tom Kerridge has warned almost every UK food business was on the brink of going bust, including his Michelin-starred outlet – blaming unprecedented inflation.
Not only do 25 per cent of those surveyed have no cash reserves but a further 29 per cent said they only have enough for three months.
Almost as many pubs shut for good during the first half of this year than throughout 2022, according to real estate services provider Altus Group.
Figures from accountancy firm Price Bailey also showed restaurants closed at their fastest rate for a decade between January and the end of March.
Last year, 6,180 hospitality venues shut their doors for good, according to figures revealed last month by CGA by NIQ and AlixPartners.
James Parker is a UK-based entertainment aficionado who delves into the glitz and glamour of the entertainment industry. From Hollywood to the West End, he offers readers an insider’s perspective on the world of movies, music, and pop culture.
