It goes without saying that one of the best things about London’s vibrant, bustling, varied restaurant scene is its diversity and those responsible for it; the huge number of people from all backgrounds, all over the world, that have made our food scene one of the best on the planet.
And it’s this diversity which also creates a dynamic, interesting environment to work in, something that TikTok star turned restaurateur Thomas Straker appeared to forget last Friday, when he posted to the Instagram account of his Notting Hill restaurant, Straker’s.
Two of the three images picture what appear to be an all-male, all-white team standing in a military-like line with their arms crossed, posted with the caption, ‘Chef team assembled.’ The post’s comments section quickly filled with questions and outrage about the lack of diversity in Straker’s team.
One particularly eloquent reply came from @tcblu, who said, ‘The main issue is that in the most diverse city in the world, in the poorest part of the richest borough of the country, not only have you managed to hire any female chefs but not a single POC. Golborne Road is historically a black/Moroccan/Spanish/ Portuguese community with an incredible history of culture and rebellion in the face of adversity. It became home to the largest Moroccan population in England and the home of Windrush families. How incredible would it be if you searched that community for young rising stars who may not get a chance to flourish otherwise in hospitality than hiring friends? Provide them with training and a safe place to grow as chefs. In turn, you’d be putting something into the very community that you’re gentrifying - intentional or not.’
Another from @e.e_williamz alleged that the restaurant has poor recruitment practices. ‘I legit went for an interview there and on the second round they ghosted me! On the day of the interview they told me to come and I travelled an hour and a half to get there for the second round and then it turns out they were doing an event on the other side of London and didn’t even apologise or anything of the sort.’
In response to the wave of comments, some of which jumped to Straker’s defence, Straker himself commented, ‘Honestly people need to calm down. Firstly there is a shortage of chefs / hospitality workers. Secondly if you feel so passionately please go and gather CV’s [sic] of any chefs you think we’re missing in the team. Solutions not problems. Thank you’.
The post has since been deleted, though there has been a slew of critical commentary and memes based on Strakers’ choice of chefs circulated on social media, from famed self-proclaimed ‘food antagonist’ Joe Rosenthal, to viral chef accounts such as @allezceline, @blue_roll and @sluttycheff.
Founders of female-led supperclub Mam Sham, Maria Georgiou and Rhiannon Butler, created several Instagram stories questioning the lack of diversity in Strakers’ team, and have since posted a series of direct messages they allegedly received from Straker, in which The Tik Tok star called the women ‘bitter and twisted.’ The stream of messages sent to the women went on to say, ‘Wow. Shameful. My workforce is 40% women 8 nationalities’. ‘You’re so woke you don’t even care’. ‘Literally no time to do resea [sic]... Research just a keyboard worrier [sic] looking for followers’. ‘How diverse is your workforce’ [sic]. ‘Or do you even have one?’ ‘I care about my team and their careers’. ‘You two are just obsessed with yourself.’ ‘It seems that way’. ‘Anyway good night’.
Straker has since posted an apology on both his personal and the Straker’s Instagram account. ‘On Friday night I put up a post of my chef team and many rightly pointed out the lack of diversity within it. I am very sorry for my initial response, where some queried whether I take this issue seriously. I am absolutely committed to ensuring diversity in my restaurants, unfortunately we aren’t achieving this in my kitchens currently and this is an area I know I need to improve on, making sure it is seen as a welcoming and approachable environment for all. Tom x’
A sincere apology? You decide. Watch this space for updates.
