Heston Blumenthalhas announced he will permanently close his two-Michelin starLondonrestaurant – after a 'rise in food prices' and his diagnosis with bipolar.

The celebrity chef revealed the 'bittersweet' decision to shut Dinner by Heston next January, exactly 16 years after it opened in 2011.

Mr Blumenthal told The Times: 'I’ve got a year to wrap my head around it.

'There are some huge feelings there; sadness. It’s bittersweet, but it has run its natural course. We are effectively tenants in a building and our tenancy is finished.'

Dinner by Heston opened 16 years after Mr Blumenthal launched the Fat Duck in Bray, Berkshire – the three-Michelin star restaurant that earned him his steadfast reputation in the business.

The restaurant picked up a Michelin star within a year and by the next year it had secured its second.

Its world famous chicken liver parfait – cloaked in a layer or orange jelly to make it look like a mandarin – became the most photographed dish on Instagram in 2011, taking three cooks fives hours a day to make, serving 900 a week.

But only last month, Mr Blumenthal's restaurant empire was said to be at risk – after its parent firm was hit with a winding-up petition by HM Revenue and Customs.

Heston Blumenthal has announced he will permanently close his two-Michelin star London restaurant – after a 'rise in food prices' and his diagnosis with bipolar (file image)

Dinner by Heston (interior pictured) picked up a Michelin star within a year of opening and by the next year it had secured its second

HMRC issued a winding-up petition against the firm SL6 Ltd, which most recently posted losses of more than £2million in 2024, up from almost £1.4million in 2023.

But the problem was resolved, with a spokesperson for Mr Blumenthal telling the Mail; 'this was an administrative oversight during our transition to a new accounting system. This has been resolved and HMRC has been paid.'

Dinner by Heston's tenancy was due to end in the summer but the chef said it was extended by six months to meet the 16-year anniversary.

Mr Blumenthal said: 'In these times most restaurants are suffering in one way or another.

'It’s exacerbated by the fact that food prices are rising. We chose to partner with the Mandarin because of their level of service. But they’ve got budgets, and budgets don’t always meet up. Sometimes they do.

'It’s one of the things that you are always going to be getting with a tenancy and a restaurant in the hotel.'

Mr Blumenthal also discussed one important change to his personal life.

It follows his diagnosis with bipolar in November 2023, after months of erratic and manic behaviour – after which he was eventually sectioned.

Mr Blumenthal spent two weeks in a psychiatric hospital, put on a heavy dose of medication and told he could only make one phone call a day.

He is now on less than 10 per cent of the medication he had been then but added the illness had 'slowed everything down' and he felt his mind 'wasn't as active' following the diagnosis.

Its world famous chicken liver parfait – cloaked in a layer or orange jelly to make it look like a mandarin – became the most photographed dish on Instagram in 2011

However, he said his creativity had now come back 'more than ever' and his sadness had been 'replaced with some excitement'.

It comes as Mr Blumenthal's sister Alexis, who died in 2021, was had also been diagnosed with bipolar but, he said, she was 'in denial'.

And Mr Blumenthal said he suspected his mother also had it – adding, 'if she was alive today I would've tried to get her diagnosed'.

The chef will spend the next few months between the Fat Duck and his home in Provence where he lives with his wife.