Shamed Scottish chef James Stocks shut his restaurant Wild Sorrel in Edinburgh without notifying his staff, the restaurant manager has claimed.

Earlier this year, Stocks was forced to resign from his role at Balbirnie House after embellishing his CV and alleging false senior positions at some the UK’s top restaurants.

After leaving the property in Fife, Stocks launched his own restaurant, Wild Sorrel in Shaw’s in Edinburgh’s Old Fishmarket Close, in September.

The restaurant shut on Monday (24 November), with Stocks citing problems with the restaurant’s extractor system as the reason behind the closure, insisting it would be closed temporarily while the issue was being addressed.

However, restaurant manager David Stevenson said he only discovered Wild Sorrel was closing when he arrived for work one day to find it empty.

He claimed Stocks left the restaurant during service to pop to the bank but never returned.

“One of the waitresses hadn't been paid for seven weeks so James took £80 out of the till, said he was nipping to the bank and just disappeared,” Stevenson told the Daily Record.

“We carried on running the restaurant for days and he didn't even call.”

Stevenson added that Stocks made up a story about being hit by a car, which later proved to be untrue.

“In all my life, I have never met a man who lies like he does,” he said. “He was a liar, he was lazy, he was dirty and he didn't even cook but we all decided we would make it a great restaurant and we worked 60 hour weeks to do it.”

According to the Daily Record, several of Stocks’s suppliers have come forward claiming they are owed thousands of pounds in unpaid bills.

The newspaper 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 and carries the following statement: “This website has been taken down due to James Stocks not paying his bills.”

Stocks was unavailable for comment.

Daily Record: 'Walter Mitty' chef James Stocks' restaurant shuts as he flees with trail of debt >>

Fake 'Ramsay chef' Stocks closes Edinburgh restaurant >>

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

E-mail your comments to Kerstin Kühn here.

Caterersearch.com jobs
Looking for a new job? Find your next restaurant job here with Caterersearch.com jobs