TV chef who was Gordon Ramsay’s best man shuts restaurant after cheating on wife with wine expert 24 years his junior

A TOP chef shut his restaurant after he cheated on his wife with a wine expert.

Stephen Terry, a friend of Gordon Ramsay, this week announced he was closing The Hardwick.

But we can reveal the real reason for the sudden closure of the restaurant — voted the best in Wales — was he was busted for an affair with a woman 24 years his junior.

Dad-of-three Stephen, 56, was confronted by his wife Joanna, 54, after “suspicious” messages were found on his phone between him and sommelier Jo Browning, 32.

A source said Joanna was left “utterly heartbroken”.

The insider said: “It was a total betrayal and so painful.

“They had been together 20 years and started and ran the restaurant together. He was in the kitchen and she was front of house.

“He is a chef and can be temperamental and difficult but Joanna had no idea.

“Stephen and Joanna have not fallen out, he’s just found a younger model. He has been telling people he just has a ‘connection’ with this other woman.”

Earlier this week Stephen, who trained with TV chef Ramsay and was best man at his wedding, thanked his staff and customers in Abergavenny, Monmouthshire.

He posted: “It’s been emotional. Onwards and upwards.”

Stephen and Joanna own a Grade II listed, five-bedroom detached home worth £750,000 in a nearby village.

But Stephen, who was on BBC series the Great British Menu, has now moved into an £800-a-month rented two bedroom love nest with Jo.

Sources say they will start afresh in Bristol or Bath.

The pair’s affair is said to have begun after drinks at Chesters wine merchants, where Jo works part-time.

The source added: “Suspicious activity was on his phone and Stephen admitted he was having an affair.”

Jo declined to comment. Stephen said: “Yes, we had an affair for a brief time and then made it out in the open and now live together.”

Earlier this year Stephen’s financial administrator Nicola Nightingale, 48, and husband Simon, 50, got suspended jail terms for fleecing £150,000 from The Hardwick.

A court has since ordered the pair to pay back just £1