A café has received a threatening letter over the name of one of its sandwiches. The Bridge Bakehouse offers a playful menu, full of puns, including "don't go bacon my heart" and "get ya goat, you've pulled".
But one member of the community has taken offence at one sandwich name – a cheesy offering with the moniker "Cheesus Christ". White paint was recently thrown over the eatery's outdoor menu board, although it has not yet been confirmed if the incident was connected with the naming of the sandwich.
The lunchtime snack has been on the menu for a while and features a combination of caramelised onion, onion chutney, mature cheddar and mozzarella. However, earlier this week the café was sent a threatening letter claiming to be from a Christian group, according to a report in DerbyshireLive.
The letter, sent to the Whaley Bridge café, read: "Our members have instructed us to write to you to ask you to remove the sandwich name Cheesus Christ from your menu. Although our clients would prefer to [settle] this matter out of court, there is clearly a case to answer here.
"Everyone in the United Kingdom has the right to their beliefs without fear of discrimination. It is a basic human right that all institutions, including bakeries, have a duty to abide by and protect."
Stating the £4 sandwich's name was an "insult to Christianity", the letter demanded that to stop the author of the letter taking the matter further, the café needed to follow four steps:
- Issue a public apology on the café's platforms, e.g. social media, website, etc within five working days if the date of the letter.
- Remove the sandwich name and all mention of it from the café's menus within 10 working days of the date of the letter.
- Remove any mention of the name Cheesus Christ from the sign standing on the Whaley Bridge Parish within 30 working days of the date on the letter.
- Make a donation of £300 to the Holy Trinity Church within 30 working days of the date of the letter.
The strongly worded letter claimed to be from the religious organisation Christian Concern, but this was later dismissed as fake by Bridge Bakehouse on its social media. A spokesperson for the café said: "So after investigations, it turns out the bizarre blackmail letter had nothing to do with Trinity Church or ‘Christian Concern’.
"It seems it was from an anonymous disgruntled member of the local community. We would still love to find out who it was and if they had anything to do with the recent vandalism of our menu board."
In reference to the menu board, the café responded in good humour, posting on social media: "To whoever has tried to cover up the ‘Cheesus Christ’ sandwich on our outdoor menu board with white paint, can you please not?
"We really can’t be bothered contacting the council to check the CCTV and if it wasn’t done in the dead of night by someone dressed like The Mask of Zorro we are going to be highly disappointed."
The Bridge Bakehouse has been contacted for further comment.
For more stories from where you live, visit InYourArea.
Find recommendations for eating out, attractions and events near you here on our sister website 2Chill
