Stephen Terry's restaurant The Hardwick to close after 18 years of service

The Staff Canteen

Editor

Stephen Terry has announced he will close his restaurant The Hardwick after a married couple stole £150,000 from it.

The decision to close the restaurant comes after Nicola Nightingale, a former employee of Stephen, stole £150,000 from the restaurant and transferred £46,000 into the account of her husband Simon.

Announcing the news on social media, Stephen thanked all staff and customers, adding: "It's been emotional. Onwards and upwards".

In March 2020, Stephen became suspicious of Nicola Nightingale's behaviour and tried to contact her and her husband about irregularities in the accounts.

Neither of the pair replied when contacted, with Nicola shortly resigning as the restaurant's office administrator via an email.

As a result, Stephen contacted the police who discovered that over a two-year period she had transferred almost £47,000 into her husband's bank account, made direct payments of more than £50,000 to herself, inflated her wages by £6,000, and made additional payments of £47,000 to herself disguised as paid wages.

It was also revealed that two £40,000 loans had been taken out in Stephen's name without his permission.

Cardiff Crown Court heard that Nicola Nightingale used the money to fund a spending addiction.

During Simon Nightingale's trial, it was revealed that some of the money was spent on holidays abroad - including trips to Eurodisney, Disney World Florida, France and anniversary stays in Morocco.

Nicola Nightingale pleaded guilty to fraud by abuse of position, and Simon Nightingale was found guilty of acquiring criminal property after a trial.

Outside court, Mr Terry said he was "gobsmacked" by the judge's decision not to give the couple a prison sentence.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by The Hardwick (@the_hardwick)

In these challenging times…

The Staff Canteen team are taking a different approach to keeping our website independent and delivering content free from commercial influence. Our Editorial team have a critical role to play in informing and supporting our audience in a balanced way. We would never put up a paywall and restrict access – The Staff Canteen is open to all and we want to keep bringing you the content you want; more from younger chefs, more on mental health, more tips and industry knowledge, more recipes and more videos. We need your support right now, more than ever, to keep The Staff Canteen active. Without your financial contributions this would not be possible.

Over the last 12 years, The Staff Canteen has built what has become the go-to platform for chefs and hospitality professionals. As members and visitors, your daily support has made The Staff Canteen what it is today. Our features and videos from the world’s biggest name chefs are something we are proud of. We have over 500,000 followers across Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube and other social channels, each connecting with chefs across the world. Our editorial and social media team are creating and delivering engaging content every day, to support you and the whole sector - we want to do more for you.

A single coffee is more than £2, a beer is £4.50 and a large glass of wine can be £6 or more.

Support The Staff Canteen from as little as £1 today. Thank you.