Purnell’s closure: Can fine dining weather the financial storm?

One Birmingham restaurant that appears to have bucked the trend is Simpsons, which has been in business for more than 30 years and has had a Michelin star since 1999.

But owner Andreas Antona said it was still not immune to the economic challenges.

In the early 2000s, both he and Purnell were building their businesses during the Birmingham “renaissance”.

Before then, the city was known purely for its Balti Triangle – an area featuring many of the curry houses devoted to the Birmingham-originated dish.

Purnell had worked for 10 years for Antona, who said he considered him “a part of my family”.

Their business success built Birmingham’s culinary reputation.

“We moved to being second to London for Michelin restaurants. But now they’re all fading,” he said.

Antona said hospitality and fine dining were both going through the mangle and it would be a long time before things improved.

He said banks were not lending to young, aspiring chefs and the industry would be “in the doldrums” until the economy got better.