Gary Rhodes to close London restaurants

Two critically acclaimed London restaurants run by Gary Rhodes will close when the television chef splits from a French catering company after a seven-year partnership.

City Rhodes and Rhodes in the Square, which both carry a Michelin star, will close by March and May respectively.

Both sides said the decision was by "mutual agreement" but it follows management and accounting problems at the company, Sodexho, last year.

Rhodes, 42, said yesterday that he expected to open two restaurants later this year in central London with new partners. He said he also had plans to open a restaurant in the Caribbean island of Grenada. Shares in Sodexho crashed last year after it announced a profits warning because of "serious errors of management" and accounting problems.

New management was brought in and the company said yesterday that the split came after a "strategic review" of its British operations.

Rhodes said yesterday: "I want something fresh and I want a new approach to my cooking. From a customer point of view, you can change a menu so many times but when you are in the same surroundings, sometimes it's not recognised."He said was taking staff with him for his new ventures.