03 January 2024 , 09:24
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Ex-MasterChef finalist Tony Rodd has been forced to shut his restaurant 'immediately' after his monthly energy bill tripled.
Tony, who was on the BBC show in 2015, is closing Copper & Ink in Blackheath, in South East London, due to a 'terrifying' £80,000 energy bill. Taking to X, formerly known as Twitter, on Tuesday, Tony and his wife Becky announced: "It is with heavy hearts that we announce the immediate closure of Copper & Ink. We have agonised over making this decision and spent much of the Christmas break trying to find a way to save the restaurant, but to no avail."
The couple explained that the pandemic, rising energy bills and other costs forced them to increase prices, which led to losing customers. Tony revealed to The Sun that his energy provider had almost quadrupled Copper & Ink's monthly direct debit from £1,700 to £6,400.
MasterChef star shuts restaurant 'immediately' after energy bill triples to £80k (copperandink/Instagram)"It's terrifying, I have no idea how we are going to make it through the next few months. Our yearly estimate has spiralled up from £20,000 to £80,000 and things were already extremely tight. I struggle to sleep at the best of times but I hardly get a wink at the moment. Every waking minute is spent with this immense fear about the future," Tony told The Sun.
In a bittersweet Twitter statement, the couple said: "We have had a wonderful 5 years. We want to thank each and every one of you from the bottom of our hearts for the warmth, love and support you have bestowed upon us during this time.
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"We know there will be many questions and we will attempt to answer as many of them as we possibly can. However, we are also in a period of grief for the loss of the place we have called home for all this time. We would appreciate some respect for our privacy while we process everything and go through the procedure of winding everything up.
"We have been privileged to be such an integral part of the Blackheath Village community. We will dearly miss seeing all of you on a regular basis. Until we meet again..."
Tony announced the news in an emotional Twitter statement (copperandink/Instagram)After an overwhelming amount of support from fans and followers alike on X, Tony shared another update on Wednesday morning after waking up to see hundreds of supportive comments.
One wrote: "Few see the mental and financial burden behind the smiling faces and beautiful plates. I remember hurling the keys of our restaurant premises at the bank manager once and telling him to try and turn empty buildings into mortgage payments without us. Recovering Restaurateur."
While another echoed: "I don't know you, but I know passion determination & anger when I see it. So sorry that someone who has a passion for food & a determination for delivering a fine dining experience has now lost what got you up every morning. It's absolutely scandalous, so sorry for your loss."
In response, Tony tweeted: "I've just turned twitter and seen another 400 messaged. I'm overwhelmed with the love and kindness. Thank you all. I will get through these today. Yesterday we struggled to keep up with the pace of new messages. If we don't reply directly, know your message was appreciated."