Tom Kerridge and Yotam Ottolenghi are among a host of top chefs calling on Rachel Reeves to slash VAT for restaurants as they warn of a looming catastrophe for the industry.
Restaurants say they have been left out in the cold after the Government has offered other hospitality and leisure businesses support to help with a mountain of rising costs.
Tom Kerridge, who is a familiar face on cooking television shows including Saturday Kitchen and Bake Off, said Labour’s approach to hospitality was ‘very, very wrong’.
Kerridge, whose site, The Hand & Flowers, was the first gastropub in the UK to be awarded two Michelin stars, said most of his businesses were ‘sat still or losing money’ as his margins have been ‘completely eroded’ by Government hikes.
He joined fellow chefs - including Ravneet Gill and Simon Rogan, plus Ottolenghi - in calling for VAT to be cut to 10 per cent to help businesses avoid closures, job losses and price cuts.
