Why is Tim Allen taking over at Daniel Clifford's Flitch of Bacon pub?

Tim Allen will become a partner in Daniel Clifford's pub, Flitch of Bacon, after announcing earlier this month that his Manchester venture was no longer going ahead.

Tim will be taking full control of the Flitch and Daniel will now become a silent partner and focus on Midsummer House.

"We've been mates for 25 years," explained Daniel. "The Flitch needs the chef to be there and be on the ball, looking at every angle of the business. Tim and I have been in talks about it since the day I opened it - I want to push Midsummer forward and he wants to run his own business so he's invested into it and taken full control of it."

The Flitch of Bacon opened in 2015 and Tim will officially take control next month and it will become known as Tim Allen's Flitch of Bacon. He previously worked for Daniel at two Michelin-starred Midsummer House and boasts an impressive CV including Launceston Place where he gained a Michelin star, Whatley Manor and L’Ortolan.

Last year he announced he was leaving the Wild Rabbit in Kingham after earning a Michelin star, to pursue a new venture in Manchester with Select Property Group which he recently confirmed would no longer go ahead.

Today's announcement is not the only change Daniel is making, last week he tweeted that Midsummer House would no longer offer tasting menus.

We will be changing @Midsummerhouse to full à la carte menus from May. I would like my chefs to cook how I learnt and to give our guests the choice.
— Daniel Clifford (@Midsummerchef) January 11, 2018

He told The Staff Canteen: "I'm slightly bored of cooking the same thing day in day out. And in terms of the staff crisis, I'm looking at it differently to everyone else because we need to teach them to be chefs not robots. That's how I learnt, working on a busy service and cooking different things- I want to give that opportunity to chefs who work for us."

He added: "In this day and age customers really want choice."

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