Business has resumed at Dylan McGrath’s Rustic Stone restaurant in Dublin after an armed raid last night.
Eight members of staff at the Masterchef judge's restaurant were threatened and locked in a room by two men wearing balaclavas and wielding a gun and a knife.
The men escaped on bicycles with an estimated €10,000 in cash, as well as mobile phones belonging to staff members. No one was injured during the raid.
Mr McGrath said today that he was deeply upset that his staff members faced the ordeal.
"This was a terrible and unfortunate ordeal to put the staff through. I am thankful that no one was injured, but upset that my hard working team were subjected to this treatment last night," he said.
"Myself and my business partners have worked really hard to make Rustic Stone a commercial success in this tough recession, and we will not be deterred by this incident."
Adrian Cummins, chief executive of the Restaurants Association of Ireland, said the courts would have to develop tougher attitude to armed robbery in order to eradicate the problem.
"To my knowledge, this kind of crime is on the increase, so the courts must take a zero tolerance approach to any kind of armed robbers," he said.
"If someone threatens another person with a gun or with a knife, they should get the maximum sentence possible. It has to be done to ensure that this kind of crime stops."
Mr Cummins said the incident highlighted that businesses had to be vigilant and had to "look out for each other".
Gardaí at Pearse Street Station are investigating and have appealed for information about the incident.