The head chef at a Liverpool restaurant has spoken out about the impact coronavirus is having on his business and the industry in general.
David Critchley, head chef of the recently opened Lu Ban restaurant in the Cains Brewery Village, in Liverpool 8 took to social media to talk abut the challenges currently facing his business.
He wrote in a Facebook post: "There's no denying that we as restaurants are currently in a difficult period, people unsure what's going on, cancelling tables, not showing up for bookings, staying in where it feels safe, even avoiding certain types of foods.
"And we get it, but our mantra is to keep calm and carry on, live life while we can. Until we're told different my team and I will continue to deliver amazing menus, wine, cocktails, snacks and dim sum."
However speaking to the ECHO, David described how he has seen a tail off in recent days at his business , on Stanhope Street, as fewer people have been going to the restaurant.
He told the ECHO how on one recent occasion, more than half of the people who booked for a lunch event, many of whom had already paid for the tickets, failed to show.
Dave said: "It's affecting our business massively - there are a lot of people who aren't talking about it as it's a hard message to put out there.
"It's tough, and speaking to other chefs and businesses, we're all struggling.
"Today I had a lunch with 40 booked tickets, and we had less than half turn up - that's hard if you're a small restaurant but people aren't turning up.
"We've noticed a bit of a drop off on every day but when you see something specific like with the lunch when people have actually paid for the ticket but they're scared to come - they don't know what to do - it's hard. "
The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in the UK has jumped by 134 in the last 24 hours.
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This follows two more deaths which have been caused by the outbreak of the illness.
There are now 590 confirmed cases of coronavirus across the UK.
The number of people who have died after testing positive for coronavirus in the UK is now eight.
Dave believes in the catering industry there hasn't been enough information, which has led to customers being unsure about what they should do.
He added: "In our industry we're usually renowned for not talking, but people are now and it just took that one or two people to say look things aren't right in the industry at the moment.
"People think its bad for business to speak out and it might put people off more - but now its starting to get out there that everyone is in the same boat."
Dave said after sharing his concerns on social media the reaction has been "pretty positive" but he understands people's fears.
He said: "I've shared a few posts about it on social media - the reaction has been pretty positive really, regulars saying don't worry we're coming in Saturday - it's the fear of the unknown - for example when overnight half of people drop out of a function just like that you can see the way the impact is huge."
David claims that although people are continuing to visit shops and use public transport, restaurants seem to be getting the brunt of people's fears.
However he is seeking to try to reassure people and raise awareness of what steps Lu Ban has taken to ensure the safety of its customers and staff.
He said: "People are staying away and for some reason choosing restaurants - but these are clean places - being super clean is normal for us .
"We have hand sanitisers and are lucky in terms of stock we have a fair bit and use it a lot - we wanted to get hold of some hand-held sanitisers for customers front of house but we've not been able to do that for the last few days.
"We have sanitisers everywhere in the back of house it's a clinical almost hospital-like environment.
David said that being a Chinese restaurant has increased the impact for Lu Ban.
He said: "We are a Chinese restaurant - not a traditional one though - and we are an all-Scouse team - but people are still staying away from us - but you can't catch coronavirus from a spring roll.
He added: "People are also avoiding Italian restaurants - but I just want people to realise you can't catch the virus from food".
David was supposed to be out in China now to be inaugaurated into an apprenticeship with world renowned Masterchef Zhengxi Wu, but has had to postpone his trip because of the virus.
Lu Ban is also a training academy and David said he was supposed to be teaching 12 students from China, which has also had to be postponed.
One of the plans Dave is considering, is temporarily introducing deliveries, depending on how things develop.
He added: "We're going to keep doing what we're doing - I have my team and want to keep them earning money, learning and cooking but we are preparing for the worst.
"But I think we will be robust enough to weather it and pop out the other side and hopefully we can get people back in the restaurants.
"I'm still going out and eating in other places and supporting other businesses. When something like this comes along it's like how do we deal with this?
"It's going to be difficult for Liverpool with tourism, and if the football shuts down, that's another massive concern - it's about weathering the storm and rising from it - we'll rise like the phoenix.
"I've still got loads of plans- we're still planning on different nights and we'll come back with fire - hopefully we'll pick back up again in the next month.
