The award-winning restaurant The Cellar is to close temporarily as Fife moves into tier three this month.
Yesterday First Minister Nicola Sturgeon announced Angus, Fife and Perth and Kinross are to move into level three restrictions from Friday 13 November.
That means 21 of Scotland’s 32 local authorities are now in this level – the second highest under the country’s five-tier system of measures.
Tier three restrictions mean that restaurants, cafes, pubs and bars can open indoors and outdoors for the consumption of food and non alcoholic drinks as alcoholic drinks cannot be served.
Last entry is 5pm and all venues must be closed and all customers off the premises by 6pm.
In response to this, chef and owner of The Cellar, Billy Boyter, tweeted: "And here we go. That’s the cancellations rolling in. And do you know what, I don’t blame them at all. Ridiculous that you aren’t allowed to enjoy a glass of wine with your meal."
And here we go. That’s the cancellations rolling in. And do you know what, I don’t blame them at all. Ridiculous that you aren’t allowed to enjoy a glass of wine with your meal.
— Billy Boyter (@billy_boyter) November 10, 2020
The restaurant's Twitter account then tweeted a statement from Billy, which reads: "After today's announcement of Fife being moved into tier 3, we've taken the very difficult decision to once again temporarily close as of Friday 13th.
"I can only apologise to all guests affected by this. We are equally as frustrated by this as I am sure you all are. Especially after just reopening following previous restrictions.
"We will review the situation again on Tuesday 24th November."
The statement went on to say that anyone affected by the closure will be contacted and that vouchers will be honoured or extended.
Really not the decision we wanted to make. But hopefully we will be back soon. pic.twitter.com/GmhejN1rKd
— The Cellar (@The_Cellar_Fife) November 10, 2020
Speaking about the decision to move Angus, Fife and Perth and Kinross into level three, the First Minister told MSPs at Holyrood: “The most recent data shows that, in the space of a week, the seven-day number of cases per 100,000 of the population has increased in Perth and Kinross by 32%, in Fife by 40% and in Angus by 47%.
“The advice of the chief medical officer and national clinical director is that Level 2 restrictions may not be sufficient to slow down and reverse increases of this magnitude and, as a result, an early move to Level 3 was strongly recommended.”
The Cellar restaurant, which is located on the site of a former smokehouse and cooperage for over 30 years, was formerly run by legendary Scottish chef Peter Jukes.
Following the death of Mr Jukes in 2013, Billy, who was head chef at Michelin starred Number One in Edinburgh, saw the opportunity to carry on The Cellar’s outstanding culinary heritage.
He re-opened it in 2014, retaining the name and achieved a Michelin star the following year.
Since then Billy has made The Cellar his own and retained the accolade from Michelin through his “delicious, deftly prepared dishes”.
The menu offers seasonal Scottish produce and locally foraged ingredients from the nearby coastline and countryside that are thoughtfully brought together on the plate with a modern touch.
