Norovirus Outbreak Closes Heston Blumenthal Restaurant

Dinner, celebrity chef Heston Blumenthal's Michelin two-star restaurant in London, has closed for a week after a norovirus outbreak sickened 45 people.

According to the BBC, 24 customers and 21 staff members were taken ill by the norovirus, which is a common but highly contagious and unpleasant food-borne illness that causes vomiting and diarrhea. Dinner announced on its website that it would remain closed for a week to make sure the problem was fully solved before reopening.

Blumenthal said the extended closure might be overly cautious, but he has had experience with this virus before. In 2009 his famous three star restaurant, The Fat Duck, had to close for two weeks after a norovirus outbreak sickened more than 500 people. Having learned from that experience, Blumenthal said it was best to "err on the side of extreme caution."

"I am very sorry for the inconvenience to those customers affected by cancellations," he said. "My goal has always been to pursue perfection in the kitchen and to amaze our guests with taste sensations beyond their imagination, rather than expose them to the risk of a really nasty couple of days of heaving."