Updated 4/12/23 with additional details
News has broken of a pretty big closure. Chef Robin Gill announced on Instagram that he and his team were told to "down tools with immediate effect" at his Zebra Riding Club restaurant at Birch hotel in Cheshunt for what seemed to be financial reasons. Later this was confirmed on the main Birch website which said that the hotel had gone into administration and had been closed.
Further reports say that not only has Birch Cheshunt closed but the much more recently opened Birch Selsdon close to Croydon has also closed.
It's a sad end for the Cheshunt Birch which brought in Robin Gill to be in charge of the food offering. As well as being responsible for the two restaurants there (which we thought were very good indeed), he also set up their kitchen garden and was also rearing pigs and hens on site. As he said, "It was rough around the edges but we dug deep and planted, painted, built fires, fired crockery, created a bakery, farm, 2 wonderful restaurants and a farm-to-plate approach I had always dreamed of that is at its best right now with so much more to do."
Meanwhile, Birch Selsdon brought Lee Westcott back to London (from his restaurant Pensons, which coincidentally has also just announced its closure) to set up two restaurants in that hotel, launching only this spring. He's since announced on Instagram his plans to reopen Elodie in a new location. "Elodie will live on in a new site in the near future, so keep your eyes and ears open for that."
We'll have to see what happens with the properties, but both hotels are good-looking sites with Cheshunt about to get a big new film studio next door. We won't be at all surprised if another hotel group snaps that up fast. Here's hoping it's quick enough to keep that kitchen garden in good shape.
More about Birch
Where is it? Cheshunt (Lieutenant Ellis Way, Cheshunt EN7 5HW) and Selsdon (126 Addington Rd, South Croydon CR2 8YA)
Find out more: Visit their website or follow them on Instagram @birchcommunity.
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