The co-owner of Danny Malin’s takeaway has spoken out about ‘nasty, negative comments’ made about her on social media.
While the Rate My Takeaway Youtube star is used to the online attention, Ashleigh Steel has always shied away from the spotlight as she’s massively “self-conscious” about what people think of her appearance. The mother-of-two was also left feeling cold by misogynistic comments written online.
Brody’s, in Robin Lane, Pudsey, first opened its doors on Friday, March 11, and Danny broke the news that it was his own business on the following Monday in a Rate My Takeaway special video. Ashleigh featured with Danny at the end of the video and she was in an exclusive report on Leeds Live.
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Ashleigh says business has been booming since the coverage but has avoided looking at online comments, branding some as “nasty” and “negative”. Ashleigh said: “There are nasty people on social media. There have been negative comments towards me. On the morning of the shop opening, I didn’t have my hair bobble on and I knew I was going to get [targeted].
“People went making assumptions. For me, I just don’t want to see comments like that. There was one comment saying I was good looking. Then there would be a negative one saying ‘Oh I don’t know where you’re looking, she looks horrible’.
“Danny knows to ignore them and how to rise above them. I just take everything to heart. Michael was just like ‘Why are you reading them? Don’t look at the one bad comment, when there’s all these 100 good ones. Stop reading it.’
“I’m very self-conscious.”
Ashleigh and Danny have been friends for about six years, ever since he used to deliver meat to a deli she worked in. Last year, Ashleigh opened a burger trailer named Brody’s, named after her one-year-old, in Bramley.
The business boomed in popularity and Danny offered Ashleigh the space in his shop, previously called Robin Lane Deli. Ashleigh's partner Michael Donoghue, 33, also joined the business venture.
Ever since the grand opening, the Brody shop workers have been busy with Rate My Takeaway fans travelling from all over to visit. The burger joint even ran out of food on one day, demand has been that high.
Ashleigh said: “We’ve been hammered since we’ve opened the doors. We’ve had people driving from Nottingham, Ireland, London – from all over. Honest to God, I did not expect it to be as busy as what it has been.
“It’s been hard work, we’ve loved it. We’ve loved every bit of it. We’ve had a lot of Danny’s fans in the shop. They’ve all come here to try and meet him but he’s a busy man, he can’t be here every day.
"He’s just an inspiration to so many people. People come in and say they just watch him just for a boost of energy. We had a couple come down yesterday and we were closed, they’d come all the way from Northern Ireland – bless them!”
The mother-of-two, one and five, say they are having to expand their team to meet the demand. They have plans to add two more staff members to their four-person team in the kitchen.
Have you been to try Brody's yet? Let us know what you made of the food in the comments below.
