Shamed Scottish chef James Stocks, who was forced to resign from his role at Balbirnie House after embellishing his CV, has shut his restaurant Wild Sorrel in Edinburgh.

Stocks, who ran his eponymous restaurant at the Orangery, was suspended and consequently resigned from his position in May after he was exposed for faking large parts of his career alleging false senior positions at some the UK’s top restaurants.

He alleged close relationships with chefs including Marco Pierre White, Gordon Ramsay and Michel Roux Jr as well as high ranking positions in their kitchens but the multi-Michelin-starred chefs denied his claims.

After leaving Balbirnie House in Fife, Stocks launched his own restaurant, Wild Sorrel in Shaw’s in Edinburgh’s Old Fishmarket Close, in September. However, the restaurant shut on Monday (24 November), with Stocks citing problems with the restaurant’s extractor system as the reason behind the closure.

He insisted that Wild Sorrel would be closed temporarily only while the issue was being addressed.

However, according to a report in the Daily Record several of Stocks’s suppliers have come forward claiming they are owed thousands of pounds in unpaid bills. The paper also claims that Stocks has not made any rent payments to his landlord since Wild Sorrel opened three months ago. 

Meanwhile the Wild Sorrell website has been hijacked listing a message stating: “This website has been taken down due to James Stocks not paying his bills.”

Stocks was unavailable for comment.

Read the full article in the Daily Record >>

Scotsman restaurant review: Wild Sorrel >>

Shamed Scottish chef to open restaurant >>

Suppliers to chef Tom Aikens seeking thousands of pounds >>

Balbirnie House head chef suspended after lying on CV >>

By Kerstin Kühn

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