BBC’s Great British Menu chef to re-open Michelin-awarded restaurant after it suddenly shut – as swish features revealed

A GREAT British Menu chef is to re-open an “unreal” farm-to-fork restaurant after it announced its shock closure weeks after winning a Michelin star.

Star of the BBC's 2018 cooking series, Andy Sheridan, announced his plans to open his ninth restaurant on the Worcestershire, Hererfordshire border.

2

He plans to fully exploit the Worcestershire restaurant's luscious kitchen garden by prioritising its produce in menu development.

The brainchild of Imogen Davis and Ivan Tisdall-Downes, the zero-waste restaurant Native won a green Michelin star just weeks before it was shuttered on March 7.

Sheridan’s fast-growing Open Resturant Group (ORG) will reopen Native’s old premises on the Netherwood Estate, near Tenbury Wells, as Sow.

Sheridan and his business partners, Sam and Emma Morgan, have snapped up Curtis Winstone, formerly of Da Terra in London and Lucknam Park near Bath, as head chef.

Sheridan sang Winstone’s praises: “Curtis worked with us when we had 8 in Birmingham, and it is great to have him back on the ORG team.

“We are absolutely delighted to be taking over Pensons- this place is unreal, and we can’t wait to get started.

“We will be focusing on the farm-to-fork dining and the abundant ingredients available from the restaurant’s kitchen garden.”

This is ORG’S eighth restaurant, joining Andrew’s flagship 3AA Rosette restaurant 8 in his hometown of Liverpool, OXA in The Wirral, and Dishes in Prestatyn.

Other ORG restaurants include The Bracebridge in Sutton Coldfield and Black & Green and Cofton on the Green in Barnt Green, Worcestershire.

ORG announced its ambitions to open in Dubai after further UK expansion was complicated by the Autumn Budget.

2

Native’s closure followed a slew of other swanky restaurants shutting due to “soaring costs” following Chancellor Rachel Reeve’s controversial budget last Autumn..

Financial pressures, particularly from the hike in minimum wage, forced Covent Garden hot spots La Goccia and The Petersham to close last year.

A broken extraction system proved to be “the straw that broke the camel's back”, closing already tight financial margins.

The tragic news came just weeks after it had won a green star at the 2025 Michelin awards in Glasgow, recognising its contribution to exquisite sustainable fine dining.

A spokesperson for the prestigious restaurant said, “Extreme highs are often followed with extreme lows.

“Following the amazing news at this year’s Michelin awards, we have returned home to find a broken extraction system.

“What we hoped was a quick fix turns out to be a deeper problem with our systems and so sadly, cannot be an immediate fix.”