MPW roasted over Quo Vadis closure

Marco Pierre White, the first British chef to win three Michelin stars, is embroiled in a row over cancelled Christmas dinner parties after his former restaurant Quo Vadis was suddenly closed by its new owners. Earlier this month Pierre White sold three of his London restaurants - Mirabelle, Drones and Quo Vadis - to another restaurant group, Conduit Street, run by entrepreneurs Stephen Schaffer and Joseph Ettedgui, the man behind the Joseph fashion chain. But yesterday Quo Vadis was sold on to yet another company, who immediately closed it down - forcing Pierre White to contact hundreds of customers to cancel their bookings.

The situation has been made worse after it emerged that Pierre White's company White Star Line had continued to take bookings for the busy Christmas and New Year period. The company claims that it was not told that new owners Sam and Eddie Hart were buying the restaurant, let along planning to close it.

Restaurateur Sam Hart hit back today, saying that neither Conduit Street nor White Star Line showed them the reservations book before the sale. "It was always our intention to close for refurbishment," he told the London Evening Standard. As diners scrabble to find alternative venues - a difficult task less than a month before Christmas - the closure leaves Quo Vadis's once-iconic reputation in tatters.