Cambridge fine dining restaurant Alimentum closed a year after losing Michelin star

Head chef Samira Effa said it has been a struggle to make it profitable

One of Cambridge’s most famous restaurants, Alimentum, has closed - a year after losing its Michelin star.

Head chef Samira Effa said the Hills Road fine dining restaurant had struggled to make a profit and the owners had decided to close with immediate effect, leaving all staff redundant.

Announcing the news on Twitter, she wrote: “Since being asked to return to Alimentum in January, it has been a battle to try and make it a profitable business again.”

She added: “The owners have decided they do not want to put any more money into the restaurant and have chosen instead to close with immediate effect, leaving all staff redundant.”

She thanked staff, suppliers and guests who “continued to try and make Alimentum work”.

The restaurant won a Michelin star in 2012 and held it until last October, when it was removed from the 2018 guide.

Then in February this year, the restaurant suffered another blow, when it received a one-star hygiene rating from inspectors, which meant “major improvement” was necessary.

At the time, the restaurant said it had been penalised over paperwork, and had not been told what it needed to put right.

In June, celebrated chef patron Mark Poynton announced his departure and revealed plans to open a new restaurant in the city centre later this year.

Mr Poynton had worked at Alimentum since 2009, joining from Daniel Clifford’s Midsummer House, which has two Michelin stars.

Alimentum’s head sommelier Maxwell Allwood wrote on Twitter: “Thank you to all the special guests who supported my colleagues and I over the past 6 years of my career at Alimentum.”