Tom Kerridge said the government is getting taxation on businesses “very, very wrong”.
Leading chefs and restaurant owners in the UK have called on the government to reduce VAT for hospitality businesses, warning that the industry is facing severe financial pressure and many operators are struggling to survive.
Speaking to BBC Newsnight, chefs Tom Kerridge, Yotam Ottolenghi, Ravneet Gill and Simon Rogan said VAT for restaurants and pubs should be reduced from 20% to 10%, bringing the UK more closely in line with several European countries.
Simon Rogan said many hospitality businesses were barely staying afloat, adding that restaurants were no longer generating profit. Tom Kerridge criticised government taxation policies, saying businesses were being squeezed by rising costs and increasing tax burdens.
Cabinet Office minister Pat McFadden acknowledged that businesses had been asked to contribute more through taxation, but said ministers faced difficult decisions balancing tax cuts against demands for increased public spending.
Ottolenghi, who operates 11 restaurants, cafes and delis, described conditions across the sector as “crippling”, not only for larger restaurant groups but also for smaller bakeries, cafes and pubs. He said a significant proportion of revenue was now absorbed by various forms of taxation.
The hospitality sector has faced mounting challenges in recent years. Businesses were heavily affected during the Covid pandemic, followed by rising energy prices linked to the war in Ukraine and wider increases in operating costs. At the same time, many consumers have reduced spending because of the cost of living crisis.
According to industry body UK Hospitality, three hospitality businesses have closed every day since the beginning of 2026. The organisation has repeatedly argued that the UK’s 20% VAT rate for hospitality is among the highest in Europe, second only to Denmark.
Countries including Germany, Ireland, France, Italy and Spain apply significantly lower VAT rates to hospitality businesses, ranging from 7% to 10%.
Kerridge said the industry was being hit by a combination of rising employer National Insurance contributions, business rates and increases to the minimum wage. Although he supported higher wages for workers, he argued that businesses had reached a point where further price rises could not simply be passed on to customers.
Pastry chef Ravneet Gill said she had not anticipated how difficult it would be to run a restaurant, particularly because of employment costs. Rogan also highlighted staffing expenses, while describing VAT as one of the biggest pressures on the sector.
The chefs argued that reducing VAT would allow businesses to reinvest, protect jobs and improve long term stability rather than simply increasing profits. Gill said restaurant owners were trying to sustain local communities and create employment opportunities, not generate excessive wealth.
Last week Chancellor Rachel Reeves announced a temporary reduction in VAT from 20% to 5% on selected attractions during the summer holidays, including children’s meals in restaurants and cafes. However, Gill criticised the policy, claiming it was unlikely to provide meaningful support for hospitality businesses and could create opportunities for misuse.
The debate comes amid wider concerns about youth employment. Hospitality remains a major source of entry level jobs, employing more than a quarter of people aged between 18 and 20, according to the Institute for Fiscal Studies.
A recent report led by former Labour minister Alan Milburn warned that the UK risked creating a “lost generation” as job opportunities for young people continue to decline. Official figures show more than one million young people are currently not in education, employment or training, the highest level in over a decade.
The government has announced plans to create 300,000 work experience and training placements in sectors including hospitality, construction, health and social care.
Allen Simpson, chief executive of UK Hospitality, said reducing employment costs for businesses would help encourage firms to hire younger workers again.
Rogan warned that when restaurants come under financial pressure, investment in young talent and sustainability initiatives are often the first areas to be cut.
Ottolenghi said restaurant closures could have a wider social impact, arguing that hospitality businesses play an important role in bringing communities together and helping people interact face to face.
“We employ young people and give them skills,” he said, warning that continued closures could damage both local economies and social life across the country.
Main Image: Tom Kerridge in Conversation, The British Library. Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported license.
