London - He may be a Michelin starred master in the kitchen, but it seems that Marco Pierre White’s fine food is not to everyone’s taste. The fiery chef has been forced to eat a course of humble pie after locals shunned the cuisine on offer at a country pub for being “too posh”.
The 50-year-old restaurateur has left The Rainbow Inn in Cooksbridge near Lewes, East Sussex, a former gastro pub he transformed into a fine dining restaurant just ten months ago.
Customers rejected his new menu after he replaced traditional dishes like bangers and mash with delicacies including poussin a la chipolatas and pomme fondant.
“People do not want posh nosh, just simple English pub food cooked to a decent standard,” said regular, Alf Turnbull, 67. “I could not pronounce half the things on Marco’s menu let alone eat them.”
Ahead of its re-launch in January, The Rainbow was given the full Marco makeover, complete with a dark matt interior, lace tablecloths and low-hanging lamps. The pine walls were hung with artwork and illustrations by Fleet Street cartoonist JAK. These included some of the chef himself wielding several heavy instruments over the heads of nervous diners.
But the new-look venue was plagued with bad reviews about the pricey menu and the loss of a snug bar that was ripped out to make way for more tables.
One guest took to TripAdvisor to say: “We left as soon as we could £100 lighter for an appalling evening. Marco, I hope you sort it out because I can’t see the place surviving long at this rate.”
After Marco gave up his 50 percent share in the business earlier this month, a Facebook page celebrated his departure, declaring: “We want to offer the owners and management of the Rainbow Inn our wholehearted support — let’s make sure the pub is a roaring success now that Marco Pierre White’s fine dining experience has been shown the door.”
The old menu has been restored and the ripped-out bar is being replaced ahead of a re-launch. A spokesman for the pub said the chef’s departure was amicable. Marco Pierre White was unavailable for comment on Wednesday night. - Daily Mail