Celebrity chef Simon Rogan has vowed never to do television again after ‘really bad editing’ on BBC’s Restaurant Wars portrayed him as a ‘mentalist and a bully’.
Rogan’s restaurant The French was pitted against fellow chef Aiden Byrne’s Manchester House in a three-part documentary that aired in April earlier this year.
The final episode shows the moment Rogan receives the news that The French missed out on a prestigious Michelin star, prompting an outburst aimed at the city’s dining scene.
And Rogan is adamant that the programme’s producers captured him in the wrong light.
He said: “To be quite honest, I don’t want to do television much ever again.
“Restaurant Wars showed me as some mentalist who’s shouting at his staff and bullying his staff, which I wasn’t. They edited it really badly. It didn’t paint me in the best picture.
“All I wanted was the best for the restaurant. That was all I was guilty of and I was under pressure. You put someone in that bubble and you edit it in the right way, you’re going to get something which is quite explosive.”
Rogan manages a host of other restaurants across the country, including Cumbria-based ‘L’enclume, which has two Michelin stars to its name.
Last February, the Midland Hotel acquired Rogan’s services to restore both of its eateries to their former glories, with The French rumoured to be the venue where David Beckham originally wooed future wife Victoria.
But Rogan thinks his taste of small screen stardom on Restaurant Wars and the backlash that followed has put him off for good.
He said: “I did get quite a lot of unfair criticism and they got it all wrong. It’s a bit nasty, bit sinister.
“I made a decision that this year I’m going to try and do a lot less media and spending as much time in the restaurants as I can to make sure that there is no excuse for any inconsistency.”
Image courtesy of StaffCanteen via YouTube with thanks
