Tom Kerridge has opened up on how Brexit has thrown a spanner in the works for his restaurant and gastropub businesses.
The TV chef, who opened gastropub The Hand and Flowers in 2005 with his wife Beth, explained his struggles in an exclusive interview with Express.co.uk.
When quizzed on his targets and projects for 2023, Tom shared he will be: “[Trying] to make sure that we survive and get through the other side.”
He then added of his forthcoming TV projects: “We’ll probably film another series of Great British Menu, we’ll probably film something else for the BBC, or for Food Network.
“So we’ll just keep bubbling along, seeing what’s happening.”
READ MORE: Tom Kerridge hits back at complaints over £35 fish and chips
Tom also predicted a “bumpy year or two” for hospitality, due to the increasing costs sparked by Brexit and the cost of living crisis in the UK.
He shared: “I mean, there’s a huge amount of costs coming into the businesses across boards.
“So, up and down the country, whether it’s domestically or for business, the cost of living crisis is huge, but food inflation is the highest it has ever been.
“So if your world is food based, then your costs have gone higher.”
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He went on to reveal: “It’s not just manufacturing or logistics that all affect hospitality as well, but, you know, food inflation is incredibly high, energy prices are still catastrophic.
“There’s a lot of costs that are coming in that are really putting a very, very tight squeeze on businesses.
“Whether it’s small independent coffee shops, or local restaurants, or high-speed pizza chains – everyone is beginning to feel the pressure.”
Tom then explained that some people will be deterred from going out for dinner and drinks due to rising prices.
The businessman added: “And when that then starts making an impact on people at home, that will also make a big difference.
“People will spend less money, people will go out less.
“If people are going out less and things are costing more, everything kind of gets stretched and is polars apart.
“So yeah, I think it might be a very kind of bumpy year or two.”
It comes as British households are said to have paid £7billion since Brexit to cover the extra cost of trade barriers on food imports from the EU, according to researchers at the London School of Economics (LSE).
The cost of food in the UK had soared by 25 percent since 2019, the researchers concluded, but if the post-Brexit trade restrictions were not in place, then this increase would be only 17 percent.
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