Fife Masterchef winner Jamie Scott has branded a £73,000 hike in his electricity bill “a farce”.
Jamie, who won MasterChef: The Professionals in 2014, owns The Newport Restaurant in Newport-on-Tay.
In Dundee he also operates Wrecking Ball Doughnuts and Hard Grind Coffee, which also has an Arbroath cafe.
He revealed on Wednesday he is facing a £90,000 annual bill for electricity at The Newport, up from £17,000.
Morning Twitter fam, my electricity at the restaurant has gone from £17k per annum to now £90k per annum, any thoughts on this and how to survive would be greatly appreciated? #help #electric #farce
— Jamie Scott (@mrjayger) May 11, 2022
“I feel like we’re quite an energy-efficient company and we try to be as sustainable as possible.
“We used to make stocks overnight, but now we do things differently. We are very careful as to what’s left on overnight – all we leave on are the fridges and freezers.”
Electricity bill up more than £70,000
He said the news, delivered over the phone on Tuesday afternoon, was a shock to the system.
The former MasterChef: The Professionals winner said he had prepared for his electricity bills to double, but was astonished to be told they would increase by more than £70,000.
“We were prepared for it to go up by double. The standing charge has gone up from 22p to £4.47 and that’s the thing that kills us.
“It did feel like a bit of a kick. It’s just been allowed to happen.
“If you came to my restaurant, people know it’s £70 for 10 courses – we don’t then present a bill for £500.”
He said the lack of a cap for businesses would be an issue going forward for firms.
He is working out ways of recouping energy costs and said the £90,000 he was quoted is just an estimate.
“We feel we’ve been fair with our prices,” he said.
“We’ve not gone up too much. We’re also paying the team the national living wage, but these things all come at a cost.
“Obviously we put some increases in for the utilities, but it’s a tricky one.
“It was the shock of it more than anything.”
Jamie is now looking at an electricity bill across all his businesses running into hundreds of thousands of pounds.
‘Terrifying’ price rise for The Newport boss
He said it had come as a huge shock.
“It’s terrifying. My wife keeps saying if Covid didn’t kill the business, the energy crisis will.
“We felt like we thrived through Covid and learned to grow. The community gave us their support, but now we feel we’ve nobody to turn to.
“It does feel like we’re getting kicked.
“We already know people aren’t able to eat out as often.
“We know they might not be able to come to the restaurant six times a year and might only come three times.
“There’s already that pressure, and now this.”
Jamie is also looking at investing in solar panels at The Newport.
“We were looking at solar panels before Covid, but we were just getting back on our feet.
“I’ve been sent some contacts so we’re liaising with them at the moment to see if they can help.”
Conversation