SPECIAL food nights which offered attendees a museum tour have come to an end – prompting an online spat among the organisers and venue owners.

The popular Night at the Museum events, which saw diners given the chance to enjoy an evening of food at the Taste Café at Dorset Museum & Art Gallery in Dorchester, will no longer run.

Announcing the move, the Taste Café said the decision came after a “cost increase of over 550%” from venue owner, the museum.

“We’re sad to say we won’t be running any more Night at the Museum evenings due to a cost increase of over 550% from Dorset County Museum — yes, really,” they said. “It’s simply not viable for a small business like ours.

“We loved hosting you all and seeing our community enjoy the museum in such a special way. Huge thanks to everyone who came and supported us.

“Please keep showing love to your local independents — it makes a real difference.”

The events offered the chance for diners to combine culinary excellence with an experience of history – and diners reacted with sadness to the news.

Now, the venue has moved to “clarify” the situation regarding the increase in costs to Taste.

“Since reopening in May 2021, Dorset Museum & Art Gallery has worked in partnership with Taste, granting them a commercial licence to operate our on-site café,” a spokesperson said.

“This agreement sees Taste retain café revenue while we receive rental income and cover all building running costs — a collaboration that has worked well over the past five years.

“Taste also has the opportunity to cater for private museum events such as weddings and conferences, depending on client requirements.”

They said after Taste came up with the evening idea, the venue charged “just £120 per event” to support a trial.

“This did not cover the cost of our staffing, gallery access, and bespoke guided tours, but was a supportive gesture to enable this pilot,” the spokesperson went on.

“The pilot has now ended, and while we’re happy to continue supporting these events, as a charity it is important we ensure our operating costs are met.

“As guardians of world-class collections and a state-of-the-art venue, our insurance requires at least two members of Museum staff on-site during all events, and for the building to be fully secured afterward.

“This makes any out of hours events a cost-bearing exercise for our charity.

“Unfortunately, the modest contribution we’ve requested to cover these costs and ensure the financial sustainability of the museum has been deemed unviable by Taste, and they didn’t take up an alternative model that was offered.

“While we regret this, we cannot subsidise commercial activity at the expense of our charitable activities.”

Claire Dixon, executive director of the venue, said: “Our café is much-loved by visitors, and we have a mutually beneficial relationship with Taste that sees regular café users enjoying the galleries and exhibitions, as well as Museum & Gallery visitors making the most of the café.

“The café licence is for daily operation — which Taste delivers excellently — and we remain open to working with them on additional activities, but as a charity we must strike a balance between generating income and managing costs.

“Any extra use of the building must, at minimum, cover the overheads we incur — so we can continue to protect and promote Dorset’s cultural heritage for future generations.”