Notting Hill chef Thomas Straker is facing a driving ban after being caught out by a cyclist as he made a phone call at the wheel of his Porsche 911.
The 33-year-old, who is a viral online sensation known as the "TikTok Butter Chef", was reported to police by Dr Noel Pollock after an incident near Marble Arch last April.
Dr Pollock was cycling through central London when he came across Straker’s Porsche in Cumberland Place, and captured the driver’s actions on a helmet-mounted camera.
“I witnessed this driver holding and using their illuminated mobile phone in their left hand while driving”, he said, in a witness statement.
“They were talking on a call while holding the phone.
“Presumably because they were distracted, or perhaps because they chose to, the video also shows them driving into and stopping in the advanced cycle box while the light was red.”
Straker was charged with using a hand-held mobile phone while driving, in a Single Justice Procedure letter sent to his eponymous restaurant, Straker’s, in Golborne Road in Notting Hill.
The chef, who trained at the prestigious Ballymaloe Cookery School in Ireland, has become a global Internet sensation with his videos featuring different flavours of butter.
Last year, he named Chicken Tikka Masala as his top butter flavouring of 2023.
The son of a Cordon Bleu-trained chef and a former SAS commander, Straker launched his restaurant in 2022 after a string of roles in London’s top restaurants.
In November last year, Straker was rumoured to have had an affair with Princess Maria-Olympia of Greece, leading to news reports that his actress wife Davina – the mother of his two children – had kicked him out of the family home.
He was also at the centre of a social media storm last summer when he posted a picture of his eight-strong “chef team”, who were all male and all white, a story first covered by the Standard.
Straker apologised for his initial response to the controversy by saying “people need to calm down”, and he went on to say: “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.”
Straker did not appear at Lavender Hill magistrates court earlier this month when he was found guilty in absence of the driving offence, with sentencing being adjourned until March.
The court heard he already has nine penalty points on his licence from speeding tickets in 2021 and 2022 and faces a further six points for this offence, meaning he is now in line for an automatic six-month driving ban.
A lawyer for Straker wrote to the court, accepting the chef is guilty of the offence and saying he intends to argue “exceptional hardship” to avoid a driving ban.
Straker is now set to be sentenced at a hearing on March 5, when he will get the chance to argue against receiving a driving disqualification.
