Simon Rogan, the golden boy of British fine dining, will not renew his agreement with Robinson Brewery to run the The Pig & Whistle pub in Cartmel, Cumbria. The chef – who launched Fera at Claridge’s last year (to universal praise in our survey), on top of his already stellar northern outposts The French in Manchester and L’Enclume in Cartmel – says that his core focus is on food and not the pub sector.
Rogan and his partner Penny Tapsell acquired the lease on the pub, just a short jaunt from their much-lauded restaurant-with-rooms, in September 2012 and planned to run it for locals and visitors. But with increasing commitments in London and another two restaurants planned this year, the pair have given their six month’s notice.
Rogan said: “It has been great fun having a local pub, but we have realised that our core business is about restaurants with a strong food focus, and not in the pub sector.” He added that, where possible, the small Pig & Whistle team will be absorbed into other Rogan businesses.
