TV chef Manu Feildel's toil at L’etoile comes to an end

It’s all over at L’etoile, My Kitchen Rules host Manu Feildel’s Paddington restaurant. Delays in reopening after the Christmas break, coupled with Feildel’s commitment to a new Melbourne restaurant project, fuelled speculation (Good Food, February 4) that L’etoile had served the TV chef’s last scallop sausage.

While Feildel has soared in his role tutoring cooks on the small screen, his Sydney restaurant ventures haven’t exactly risen to souffle heights. He blamed an earlier decision to sell Aperitif, which he co-owned with fellow TV chef Miguel Maestre, on the changing nature of Kings Cross, arguing visitors there wanted to drink, not dine. L’etoile co-owner Michelle Guai didn’t return calls, but the restaurant’s website announced, ‘‘L’etoile has changed ownership and has closed’’.

The restaurant’s landlord is believed to have had contact with operators jostling for the site. Cockle Bay’s spin-off of Ibiza’s Cafe del Mar is rumoured to have looked at the site for a pint-sized del Mar, and Mad Pizza is also believed to be interested. With Guillaume Brahimi opening in Darcy’s nearby, Paddington is set for a much-needed revivial.