Amaryllis (restaurant)
| Amaryllis | |
|---|---|
| Restaurant information | |
| Established | 2001 |
| Closed | 2004 |
| Head chef | David Dempsey (2001–2003) |
| Chef | Gordon Ramsay |
| Street address | One Devonshire Gardens |
| City | Glasgow |
| Country | Scotland |
| Coordinates | 55°53′N 4°18′W / 55.88°N 4.30°WCoordinates: 55°53′N 4°18′W / 55.88°N 4.30°W |
Amaryllis was a restaurant located in the One Devonshire Gardens hotel in Glasgow, Scotland. It was opened by chef Gordon Ramsay, with David Dempsey operating the restaurant on a daily basis for the celebrity chef. It was awarded a Michelin star in 2002, which it held until the restaurant's closure in 2004.
Celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay was inspired to launch a Scottish restaurant in his home town of Glasgow on behalf of his protege David Dempsey, who became the first chef de cuisine in 2001. Dempsey had previously been sous chef under Ramsay at Restaurant Gordon Ramsay in London.Angela Hartnett helped to launch the restaurant. It took Ramsay two years to find an appropriate venue in Glasgow, and set up the restaurant in the One Devonshire Gardens hotel towards the west of the city. It was Ramsay's first restaurant in Scotland.
Seven months after opening, it was awarded a Michelin star. In April 2003, Dempsey moved on from the restaurant to become head chef at Restaurant Gordon Ramsay. On 3 May 2003, Dempsey fell to his death from a second floor flat window after apparently breaking into the property.
It closed the day before the new Michelin star list was announced in 2004, which presented Ramsay as the most starred chef in the world with seven stars despite the loss of the star from Amaryllis. Ramsay was on a family holiday at the time. At the time of closing, the restaurant was fully booked on Friday and Saturday nights for the following six weeks with some 770 bookings, but was reportedly quiet the rest of the week, resulting in Ramsay's concern that the service was at risk of losing the restaurant's Michelin star. It had closed for two days a week because of falling numbers of bookings. During the course of its three years, it lost £480,000, and had lost around £200,000 in the previous year.
Ramsay admitted he later felt relieved to close the restaurant following the death of Dempsey, stating, "I am just glad that I am not involved in the saga of David’s family any more and I can finally lock the door."
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