Covid-19 claims first Singapore Michelin-starred victim

Singapore

THE Covid-19 pandemic has claimed its first Michelin-starred victim, with Vianney Massot Restaurant set to close permanently by the end of this month.

The one-starred fine dining French eatery in Hong Kong Street, which has already stopped its takeaway and delivery service, is the most high profile name yet in a string of closures that have rocked the food and beverage (F&B) industry since the start of the virus outbreak. It also follows the shuttering of upscale Japanese sushi restaurant Hashida last month with a parting of ways between chef Kenjiro Hashida and his partner LifeBrandz which is said to be launching a new concept in the River Valley premises.

Chef-partner Vianney Massot declined to comment on his restaurant's closure pending an announcement by his investors, the Ebb & Flow Group, which did not respond to queries from BT. The restaurant opened in late 2018 when the Robuchon alumnus (who was the head chef at the two-starred L'Atelier de Joel Robuchon in Resorts World Sentosa before its closure) was tapped to head the previously named Bacchanalia restaurant when it was taken over by Ebb & Flow. It was subsequently renamed Vianney Massot, and earned its first star in 2019. There are currently 44 Michelin-starred restaurants in Singapore, of which 37 have one star each.

The news does not bode well for the beleaguered F&B industry, as more closures are expected before the end of the year. "It's a sign of the times," said veteran restaurateur Loh Lik Peng of the Unlisted Collection. "We have seen widespread closures in every major market overseas, and I am certain there will be many (Michelin-starred restaurants) in the US, France and Italy that will not reopen."

Fine dining restaurants are especially tough to sustain, because of their high operating costs, and - especially at the two and three Michelin star level - their reliance on tourists, who are virtually non-existent now with strict travel restrictions.

Although Mr Loh expects a bounceback in business when restaurants here are finally allowed to open for dining in, "that will tail off as the economic situation bites, and some of the economic subsidies are gradually reduced".

Even so, it will be a while yet before dining in happens. In Parliament yesterday, Health Minister Gan Kim Yong reiterated that restaurant reopenings will not take place in phase one, even as F&B operators fear that many will not be able to sustain their business until phase two. This means that, even at the fine dining level, the worst is yet to come.