Should tasting menu restaurants have a 'minimum charge' for drinks when guests opt out of the wine flight?
'I would thank you to never come back to my restaurant': Lee Skeet calls out customer for disrepectful, degrading treatment of his front of house manager
What’s a fuckwitarian, you say? Craig Millar calls out adopters of fad diets
The ethos behind Front of House by Emma Underwood
They say you can tell a lot about a person based on how they treat waiting staff.
Lee Skeet evidently thinks so, as evidenced by a letter the chef and owner of Cardiff restaurant, Cora, sent to a customer after witnessing the appalling way in which they treated his front of house manager Lily. In his note, he offered to refund the cost of their meal - minus a tip - but kindly asked that they never visit his restaurant again.
Later, the chef came to his senses: he decided to give Lily the full £1,000.
The chef began his letter by thanking the guest for their custom, acknowledging that a £1,000 bill was the highest single payment he has ever received for a single table at his restaurant.
'Lily means a lot more to me than money'
However, he added, "throughout the evening I was made aware that your party's behavior (sic) was innappropriate towards Lily, who runs our front of house."
As a 22 year old, he continued, "she was talked down to, disrespected and touched unwantedly by members of your group."
"I have spent the last hour having conversations with her that break my heart, make me feel like a s**t employer, and a terrible dad," he added.
"Please provide your bank details and I will refund you your entire bill of £1,000 minus £100 which I believe you should have tipped Lily - which I will pay directly to her - as you left no tip."
"I would thank you to never come back to my restaurant. Lily means a lot more to me than money."
A reminder that sometimes the kindest thing to do does require calling people out, the chef posted the letter on social media, stressing that he was neither trying to create clout or cancel anyone.
"I just think we should probably start valuing our friends more than we value money or status.
"Being a good cook or a good restaurant means nothing to me unless my friends are equally respected."
'This is how you should deal with that abuse'
Meanwhile, Lily detailed the events on her own account, explaining that she has "enjoyed meeting every customer at Cora. It is what I look forward to each day and I've had the most amazing people visit the restaurant."
However, she added, "I had the worst table of my career last night and it's about time we end abuse towards hospitality workers. We are not lesser than anyone else."
Thanking Lee for taking the course of action that he did, she said: "This is how you should deal with that abuse."
"Cora is changing the game."
U-turn
After an outpouring of support on social media, the chef posted again, acknowledging that he had "reacted too quickly and emotionally last night," adding: " Sorry I was a little bit angry and protective."
"I’m not going to refund the customer’s money."
"I’ve instead kept it and transferred to lily."
Cora
Lee opened his first bricks and mortar site earlier this year, after running a successful supper club from his home throughout the pandemic, followed by a 40 day and 40 night pop-up in the Welsh capital.
Named after his first daughter, the 12-seater is set above the city's Café Milkwood, Pontcanna. Intent on prioritising his family life, the chef only opens the restaurant from Monday to Friday, with no dinner service on Fridays.
Shortly after the launch, Lee succcessfully raised £30,000 through a kickstarter campaign, allowing him to fit out the restaurant to a better standard.
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.
Support Us
CONTRIBUTE
'I would thank you to never come back to my restaurant': Lee Skeet calls out customer for disrepectful, degrading treatment of his front of house manager
Should tasting menu restaurants have a 'minimum charge' for drinks when guests opt out of the wine flight?
What’s a fuckwitarian, you say? Craig Millar calls out adopters of fad diets
The ethos behind Front of House by Emma Underwood
