TV chef Ganesh Raj says the toll of the pandemic has become "unsustainable", forcing the closure of his west Auckland restaurant. Photo / NZME
TV chef Ganesh Raj says the toll of the pandemic has become "unsustainable", forcing the closure of his west Auckland restaurant. Photo / NZME
TV chef Ganesh Raj says the toll of the pandemic has become "unsustainable", forcing the closure of his west Auckland restaurant.
Liquidators Rodgers Reidy (NZ) were appointed to The Tasting Shed yesterday after a special shareholder resolution.
Raj, the host of Eat Well for Less, and his wife Jo set up the restaurant in 2010, converting a rundown cider shed in Waimauku.
But it had been on the market for sale since November 2020 after another business part-owned by Ganesh Raj - the Maori Kitchen - went into liquidation.
Ganesh Raj said in a statement they had made the difficult decision to wind up The Tasting Shed after it was no longer able to pay operating expenses, taxes and rent.
Ganesh Raj with his Eat Well for Less co-host Mike van de Elzen.
"It is with a heavy heart that we have made this decision after exhausting all the financial options available to us. We tried hard to ride out the effects of the pandemic but the impact on hospitality has been too hard for us."
He said the cost of goods and services had gone up significantly and there were fewer people to fill staffing vacancies - an industry-wide issue.
"Like many others in this industry, the impacts of the last two years on our business have taken an immense toll on the mental health of myself and my family, a key factor in making this difficult decision."
Raj said paying its staff was a priority and he was in conversations with all outstanding creditors.
The first report by its liquidators is due on June 20.
The restaurant is the latest scalp to be claimed by Covid.
At the end of 2021 Elijah Blue, an eatery overlooking the water near Hobsonville Marina, was placed into liquidation.
Liquidator Grant Reynolds cited "the effect of Covid-19 on the hospitality industry" and lease issues for its insolvency issues.
Sustainable and organic cafe Misters Real Food in the city centre were also placed in liquidation in January.
And two leading restaurants on the Auckland waterfront, Euro and Saxon + Parole, were also forced to close their doors last year due to Covid.
Euro was home to celebrity chefs like Simon Gault and was legendary for its long lunches.
Saxon + Parole was described as a "modern steakhouse from New York" and opened in the retail hub of Commercial Bay at the untimely start of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020.
