Gary Hollihead has quit his post as head chef at London club Morton's because its owners want a less-elaborate menu.

He is the latest chef to refuse to dumb-down his dishes for the sake of profit for the owners.

When he joined Morton's less than a year ago, Hollihead said he wanted to serve "serious food". But the chef, who has agreed to stay on for three months as a consultant, said that the directors of the club now wanted a "more simplistic" menu and to increase covers.

Director Howard Malin said: "I don't want to double the number of covers but make it more accessible.

"It needs a simpler menu that is quicker to prepare. Gary is very elaborate."

Last month chef Stephen Terry left London's Frith Street restaurant after just six months in the job because owner Claudio Pulze wanted him to simplify the food.

And the award-winning chef of Newcastle's Fisherman's Wharf restaurant, Simon Tennet, walked out earlier this year after the owners told him to replace fresh sweets with frozen desserts (Caterer, 4 February, page 12).

Hollihead, who has won Michelin stars for London restaurants Sutherlands and L'Escargot, said he was "very disappointed" with the situation, but felt he was unable to compromise.

"That's not a route I want to go down," he said. He is now considering several options, including opening his own restaurant.

by Christina Golding