Heston Blumenthal has decided to shut his restaurant for a week after a reported norovirus outbreak. (Photo: VALERY HACHE/AFP/Getty Images)
UK celebrity chef Heston Blumenthal, of Dinner and The Fat Duck fame, has shut the former venue for a week after an outbreak of a vomiting virus.
The two-Michelin starred restaurant is located at the Mandarin Oriental Hyde Park Hotel, and the hotel's website simply states: "Dinner by Heston Blumenthal will be closed from Sunday 2 February 2014 for one week."
After tests by the local city council, the norovirus was confirmed in three staff members and two guests.
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The chef told UK newspaper The Mail on Sunday that he was erring "on the side of extreme caution" over his decision to close his restaurant for a week. He said: "However, I will reopen the restaurant safe in the knowledge that we have done everything we can do to continue to strive to create the perfect environment and food for my guests to enjoy."
It is also reported that staff members were asked by food safety officers to "wash their hands more often".
Incidentally, his other restaurant, Berkshire's The Fat Duck, fell afoul of the same bug in 2009, and was closed for two weeks after hundreds of people complained of being sick.
Dinner opened its doors in 2011, and is known for its quirky menu specialising in historical English cuisine.
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