A Michelin Guide restaurant in Cheshire is protesting the extortionate energy costs restaurants are facing by opening without using electricity or gas.
Fine dining restaurant Next Door is set to host a special event called Back to Basics on Wednesday 19 October, which will see it serve a nine-course tasting menu to guests without using any gas or electricity to prepare the dishes, nor in the restaurant itself.
It’s set to be an exceptional evening – in more ways than one. All food will be cooked over charcoal, without the use of fridges or technology, while card payments, Wi-Fi and heating are all off limits. What’s more, the entire restaurant will be lit entirely by candlelight.
Next Door is a fine dining restaurant from chef and sommelier couple, Richard and Vicki Nuttall, who wanted to shine a light on the ‘ever-tightening constraints faced by our sector’.
‘This is a light-hearted way to make a serious point about our industry’, explains Vicky, who has already ‘watched some of our favourite restaurants and pubs forced to close their doors, despite being busy.'
![]()
Customers are invited to forego their modern-day comforts for the special event, which will be housed in the restaurant’s 17th century building.
'We’ll be cooking solely on charcoal, using no refrigeration, no technology, all by candlelight!” said head chef and co-owner Richard Nuttall.
'We are 100% committed to zero power, even in the preparation of the courses. It’s pushing us well out of our comfort zones to operate like this and keep up our usual high standards.’
The menu is planned to include plenty of age old techniques, such as smoking, curing and fermentation, while the wines have been chosen based on their flavour profile at higher temperatures. Cold brew coffee and herbal teas heated over fire will end the evening.
In other news, Jeremy Clarkson has been ordered to close his farm restaurant Diddly Squat.