Head Chef and entrepreneur Cris Cohen has announced the closure of Feasted and the Chef’s Table at the Spode Works in the heart of the city.
Cris created a unique experience for diners and his work to relate food to the city of Stoke-on-Trent and its people was revolutionary in the culinary world, balancing bringing culinary excellence while working with community groups and education to support cookery skills and personal development.
Now Cris has decided to pause the business, taking a step back from Feasted while he pursues consultancy opportunities over the coming months.
At the same time, Cris will be offering occasional dining occasions here in North Staffordshire.
Cris said the dining and hospitality sector in the UK was currently incredibly tough with even internationally known chefs and Michelin starred venues finding it hard to continue.
Well-known names including Marco Pierre White, Michel Roux Jr, Marcus Wareing, Monica Galetti, Simon Rimmer, and Tom Brown have all announced closures this year amid protests about national insurance contributions and VAT.
Feasted at Spode will close immediately with Cris urging anyone who has vouchers to contact him. Voucher holders with valid dates will be offered a place at Cris’ pop-up dining experiences.
“Our customers book through our website but don’t pay in advance, so we’re not in the position of having to make refunds,” explained Cris.
But Cris, who was crowned Entrepreneur of the Year 2024, by Staffordshire University, is refusing to draw a line under Feasted.
“I need to pursue other opportunities, and I am fortunate enough to have offers available,” he said. “We are going to be offering an occasional dining experience that allows us to flex and change. Keep things fresh. We will announce this in the next few weeks.
“It is an incredibly hard decision but one that has to be made in the current financial climate. Feasted has been both a labour of love and a unique experiment in what can be achieved if we aim high. It has broken the mould on the Stoke-on-Trent food scene.
“We have changed perceptions of how food is presented in our city and have attracted people from across the UK and beyond to sit at the chef’s table.”
Feasted linked great food to the city of Stoke-on-Trent with Cris creating unique menus to tell the story of the Potteries.
Usually, just 10 diners sat at the Chef’s Table in the historic Spode Works, Stoke.
Cris said: “I created the Chef’s Table with the intention to raise the perception of what dining could be in a forgotten city. We celebrated Stoke on Trent’s heritage, creating dishes that defined our city.
“I always encouraged my team to aspire – something that has evidently not been encouraged enough in post-industrial cities such as ours – and I am incredibly proud of what we achieved.”
“Diners watched our chefs prepare each dish and were free to ask questions about techniques around food preparation and what we were attempting to achieve.”
Feasted began from small beginnings. Cris, a former Head Chef and teacher, wrote a social media post asking if anyone wanted soup and bread. Just four people replied but it set Cris on a journey, creating high class ‘Feast at Home’ menus, before opening the Chef’s Table in 2022.
In the autumn, Feasted took the decision to close down a venture known as Stock on High Street, Newcastle-under-Lyme.
ENDS
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