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Diner’s anger at meat in ‘vegetarian’ starter
Mistake: Heathcotes Brasserie in Winckley Square Photo: David Hurst
A top chef has been forced to apologise after a diner found meat floating in a ‘vegetarian’ soup at his flagship Preston restaurant.
Restaurateur Paul Heathcote said he is carrying out a personal inquest after a diner found chunks of beef in the French onion soup at his brasserie restaurant in Winckley Square.
Diner Paul Hales, 34, was celebrating his birthday with three friends on Saturday night when he ordered the soup, which was marked vegetarian on the menu.
But when it arrived he discovered beef at the bottom of his bowl. He says he complained to staff but was met with “contempt.”
He said: “I was politely informed that the ‘vegetarian’ status was a misprint on the menu and I should have been told that at the point of ordering.
“To make matters worse, the soup also contained a large piece of bone.”
Mr Hales of Alderly Edge, Cheshire, was dining with friends Simon Bland, 43, Stuart Moore, 37, and Kris Meredith, 24, all from Preston.
One of the other diners, who is not a vegetarian, was also served the soup containing meat.
He says he understands mistakes can happen but criticised the restaurant’s handling of the incident.
He said: “Nobody seemed to treat it as an issue. I am not a strict vegetarian but try to minimise the amount of meat I eat. If it happened to a really strict vegetarian it would have been much worse and nobody seemed to care.”
The diners also said a Tuna steak main course was overcooked and had to be sent back to the kitchen.
When it returned the rest of the table had already finished eating. Mr Hales said that his complaints were ignored by staff, so he demanded a discount.
“Everything was wrong with the meal,” he said.
“So we told them that we were only willing to pay for the alcohol consumed and half of the food bill.”
In the end the guests paid £140 of the £202 bill, refusing to pay for the soup and tuna dishes.
Today, chef Paul Heathcote, a former Egon Ronay Chef Of The Year, said he was “disappointed” by the error but vowed to rectify the issue.
He said: “Beef stock was used in the French onion soup.
“We have now rectified the situation and I will find out why it happened in the first place.
“The mistake happened and we have to accept that.
“But nothing like this has ever happened before in 15 or 16 years in business.
“It will not happen again.”
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Weather for Preston
Wednesday 22 February 2012
Today
Light rain
Temperature: 11 C to 12 C
Wind Speed: 40 mph
Wind direction: South west
Tomorrow
Sunny
Temperature: 9 C to 14 C
Wind Speed: 23 mph
Wind direction: South west
