Acclaimed chef Simon Wood has hit out at diners who left ‘harsh and unfair’ reviews online for threatening to ‘destroy’ restaurants.
The former MasterChef winner announced in October that his famed WOOD restaurant, on First Street in the city centre, would be permanently closing its doors after seven years.
Prior to closing, the chef, from Chadderton, had been vocal online about a number of ‘no-show’ bookings from diners, as well as being frank with those who left reviews – including one who complained about an additional cost of butter on a cheeseboard.
In a recent post on LinkedIn, Simon, who is currently eyeing up a new restaurant spot in Saddleworth, called out the current review culture within the hospitality industry which he claimed had seen a spike in ‘unfiltered and dishonest’ reviews, which he said can often damage reputations for businesses.
Mentioning a number of platforms where people can leave reviews of their meals, he said they had ‘become spaces where a restaurant’s reputation can be unfairly destroyed by people who may lack understanding, knowledge, or even the decency to give honest feedback’.
Simon mentioned that he felt some diners wanted to post reviews online to ‘fabricate an experience just to cause harm’
(Image: ABNM Photography)
He posted: “The reality is, these reviews don’t always reflect the truth. A bad mood, an unrelated bad day, or even a sense of entitlement can fuel a negative review that damages a business and its team. Worse still, some reviews aren’t even genuine — it’s shockingly easy for someone who’s never visited to fabricate an experience just to cause harm.”
His social media post continued by asking whether people felt bad reviews were ‘justified or a momentary vent’, and whether they had come from ‘a place of genuine critique or influenced by things outside the restaurant’s control’.
Simon added: “Restaurants aren’t faceless businesses. They’re built on the hard work, passion, and livelihoods of the people behind them. A single review can ripple through a team, not just as a hit to the business but to the people who pour their hearts into creating something special.
WOOD Manchester closed its doors in October after seven years
(Image: ABNM Photography)
“Constructive feedback is always welcome and appreciated, but unfiltered negativity or dishonesty? That’s not only unfair — it’s damaging.”
Simon was named MasterChef champion back in 2015 and opened his WOOD restaurant in 2017. The ‘unintimidating high end dining’ venue was met with considerable acclaim but increases in energy bills, ingredient costs and business rates, as well as COVID rent arrears demanded by the venue’s landlord, meant he and his team could no longer “make this work”.
“We have had 7 years as part of the Manchester City dining scene and I’m very proud of what the team and I have achieved,” wrote Wood at the time. But he added: “”I may well be down, but I’m not out.”