After a hellish 12 months, Neil Perry has stepped down from Rockpool Dining Group
After a hellish 12 months marked by wage theft accusations and COVID-19, celebrity chef Neil Perry has left Rockpool Dining Group.
Confidential
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Celebrity chef Neil Perry has left his role at Rockpool Dining Group, four years after merging his upscale restaurants with Urban Purveyor Group.
In 2016 Perry partnered with UPG, putting his fine dining establishments Rockpool Bar and Grill, Spice Temple and Rosetta under an umbrella with The Bavarian, Fratelli Fresh and El Camino Cantina.
On Monday night Rockpool Dining Group announced Perry would step down from his role as Culinary Director and Ambassador.
His retirement from the group means stepping away from the prestigious restaurants he built from the ground up and earned him his status as one of Australia’s best chefs and restaurateurs.
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“As the business now needs to embark on a new chapter it is time for a fresh start,” he said in a statement.
“It will never be easy to move on from the restaurants I founded, and I do so with a heavy heart, but as the business and the sector set their sights on new beginnings, it is the right time for the next generation to have the opportunity afforded to me over 40 years ago.”
The news may come as a shock to many as earlier this year it was rumoured Perry was angling to regain independent control of his fine dining establishments.
In addition to unrest within the group, Perry was treated as the sacrificial lamb when Rockpool Dining Group was accused of underpaying workers $10 million last year.
Despite not holding a directorial position, it was Perry’s name that was attached to reports of wage theft when Maurice Blackburn demanded the Fair Work Ombudsman pursue penalties against Rockpool Dining Group.
While he has no official role with Rockpool Dining Group, Perry remains as a major shareholder and will act in a consultancy role.
He will focus on his charitable endeavours and the ongoing development of the Hope
Delivery initiative, a charitable endeavour created by Neil and backed by the Rockpool Foundation to provide free meals for vulnerable individuals.