David Everitt-Matthias vents frustration over theft of table decorations - what have customers taken from your restaurant?

The Staff Canteen

Last week The Telegraph reported how diners had stolen from David Everitt-Matthias’ two Michelin starred Le Champignon Sauvage in Cheltenham.

For some being taken on a gastronomic journey at some of the UK’s highly regarded restaurants isn’t quite enough to satisfy their needs as diners have started walking out with a little souvenir to commemorate the occasion.

In an article published by The Telegraph this week, a string of ‘petty thefts’ have been reported from restaurants up and down the country as everything from cutlery to even paintings from the wall have been stolen.

David Everitt-Matthias, whose Le Champignon Sauvage is listed at number 16 in the Good Food Guide's top 50 restaurants 2018, was surprised to learn that a party of four had taken off with one of his handmade penguin decorations from the table they were seated at.

Speaking to The Telegraph the chef explained how this is isn’t the first time he’s had something stolen from his restaurant: “We had some rather nice, very small salt and peppers on the table, silver ones, we've lost around five or six of them over the years.”

Following the theft, the Michelin starred chef took to Twitter to vent his frustration hoping the public shaming would coax them into coming forward.

The tweet garnered several responses from fellow chefs and restaurants sharing their stories of items from their restaurant going on walkies. Restaurant Fraiche said they recently had some cutlery pinched from them.

While Michelin starred chef and co-owner of Wilks in Bristol, James Wilkins shared his anger at a bowl being taken from his restaurant.

A number of other fellow tweeters shared their disappointment in the diners agreeing with David naming and shaming the thieves on the social media platform.

What do customers take from your restaurant? Let us know by commenting below or head over to our Facebook page or Twitter to keep the conversation going.

In these challenging times…

The Staff Canteen team are taking a different approach to keeping our website independent and delivering content free from commercial influence. Our Editorial team have a critical role to play in informing and supporting our audience in a balanced way. We would never put up a paywall and restrict access – The Staff Canteen is open to all and we want to keep bringing you the content you want; more from younger chefs, more on mental health, more tips and industry knowledge, more recipes and more videos. We need your support right now, more than ever, to keep The Staff Canteen active. Without your financial contributions this would not be possible.

Over the last 12 years, The Staff Canteen has built what has become the go-to platform for chefs and hospitality professionals. As members and visitors, your daily support has made The Staff Canteen what it is today. Our features and videos from the world’s biggest name chefs are something we are proud of. We have over 500,000 followers across Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube and other social channels, each connecting with chefs across the world. Our editorial and social media team are creating and delivering engaging content every day, to support you and the whole sector - we want to do more for you.

A single coffee is more than £2, a beer is £4.50 and a large glass of wine can be £6 or more.

Support The Staff Canteen from as little as £1 today. Thank you.

The Staff Canteen

The Staff Canteen

Editor 14th December 2017

David Everitt-Matthias vents frustration over theft of table decorations - what have customers taken from your restaurant?