Chef Neil Perry retires

The Sydney chef has announced his “retirement” from the Rockpool Dining Group and the shelving of plans to buy back most of the key premium restaurants his name is associated with

Neil Perry at his Rockpool Bar and Grill in Sydney in March. Picture: Jane Dempster

Neil Perry’s deal to buy back the farm has fallen over dead, with the Sydney chef announcing his “retirement” from the Rockpool Dining Group and the shelving of plans to buy back most of the key premium restaurants his name is associated with from Quadrant Private Equity.

Perry, 63, announced a deal earlier this year that would have seen him split from an acrimonious relationship with his Quadrant boss, American Thomas Pash, and keep the premium restaurant brands Rockpool, Spice Temple and Rosetta, in three states.

“It’s been a little bit difficult not being my own boss,” Perry told The Australian in March. “I went down one path and now I’m lucky enough to able to go down another. (It’s) time to reboot and start again.”

But the reboot has stalled. The savaging of the restaurant industry by the COVID-19 pandemic killed any hope Perry had of keeping the financial backing he had in place for the seven-restaurant buyback deal. It’s understood Perry was presented with a “move or move-on” scenario by Quadrant.

None of the Rockpool Dining Group’s premium restaurants has reopened since lockdown.

“It will never be easy to move on from the restaurants I founded, and I do so with a heavy heart,” Perry said in a statement on Monday.

“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 chef and his then business partner Trish Richards were forced into an uncomfortable business alliance back in 2016 with the private equity-owned Urban Purveyor Group.

That followed a decision by Perry’s largest backer, Californian multi-millionaire David Doyle, to sell to the highest bidder.

It was a deal that saw the chef in bed with strange business bedfellows including Bavarian-style pubs and Mexican cantinas. UPG promptly relaunched as “Rockpool Dining Group” to leverage the brand, and while the group expanded rapidly — mostly at the fast-casual end of the market — Perry’s personal reputation as a chef and restaurateur suffered.

Under the banner of Rockpool Dining Group, the merged entity grew from 17 venues and $150m revenue to more than 85 venues and turnover in excess of $400n in three years.

Rumour persisted the chef and Pash, his new chief executive, were on different pages.

“Tom is a very smart guy and brilliant business person,” Perry said in March. “And I’m really excited about getting my own business back again.”

Perry will no longer be Rockpool Dining Group’s culinary director but will remain a consultant and a shareholder.

“As the business now needs to embark on a new chapter, it is time for a fresh start,” his said on Monday.