CELEBRITY chef Nathan Outlaw has abandoned plans to open a new top-class fish restaurant in Looe.
In his latest blog post on his website the double Michelin-starred chef and restaurateur said: "Unfortunately, and after many discussions, the project, which entailed completely gutting and renovating one of the units on the fish market, was just too costly and difficult to pursue for many reasons."
At the beginning of March Mr Outlaw said he was excited by progress at the Looe site and revealed his plans for a rustic open-plan restaurant on the quayside in East Looe.
Alongside his existing apprenticeship scheme with Cornwall College, he had also planned to mentor upcoming chefs at a new training centre in a separate fish unit.
Announcing his decision to abandon the plans, Mr Outlaw said he would continue to support fish suppliers in the historic port and might reconsider opening a restaurant there in the future.
"I'm still totally committed to buying the majority of the fish we use in our restaurants from Looe Fish Market and I haven't given up the idea of opening a restaurant there," he said.
"Looe is a wonderful town full of history built on the fishing industry and as such, I firmly believe that it is still the place to be home to Outlaw's Fish Kitchen in the not too distant future."
Tourism businesses in Looe have suffered due to poor weather and continuing road closures to repair the damage resulting from a fatal landslide in March which made the town the focus of national media attention.
Edythe Coles, chair of the South East Tourism Association (Secta), said that the news was unfortunate but the town's hospitality industry still had plenty to offer.
"We have still got some damned good restaurants here in Looe," she said, "and the quality of fish supplied to our local restaurants is second to none.
"It would have been lovely to have him here but we have great restaurants and this shouldn't discourage people from coming to Looe."
