Manu Feildel takes confidence hit after closure of Melbourne restaurant Le Grand Cirque

MY Kitchen Rules star Manu Feildel says he needs to work up the courage to put his chef hat back on and cook again.

Le Grand Cirque opening. Manu Feildel. Picture By Julie Kiriacoudis

MY Kitchen Rules star Manu Feildel says he needs to work up the courage to put his chef hat back on and cook again.

Feildel is still hurt by the shock closure of his Melbourne restaurant, Le Grand Cirque, which closed after 16 weeks following a handful of scathing reviews.

He told Confidential: “I have no regrets, but there’s a little bit of a pinch every time I think about it. I don’t look at it as a failure, I see it as an experience, but it’s still a negative experience, so it will always hurt.

“I have moved on from it. But it’s going to take me a little bit longer to have the guts to start again.”

Feildel has put his cooking career on hold to focus on television.

My Kitchen Rules is a ratings winner, and is all set to shoot another season.

“I’ve pushed the pause button on restaurants. I’m giving it a rest,” he said.

“I’ve decided to concentrate on what’s working for me now, which is TV, and I can always go back cooking. I’ve been a chef for 25 years, my dad was a chef, my grandad was a chef, my great-grandad was a chef. I’m born into it, I’m not going to leave.”

Feildel believes his success made him a target for food critics.

“I worked my bollocks off to reach this level in my career,” he said.

“But when you reach the top, there is only one way to go. They push you down.”