A CUSTOMER who dined at one of Rick Stein’s restaurants described just how strict his controversial policy of paying for condiments really is.
While eating at St Petroc’s Bistro, Nathan Muir was horrified to be confronted by the celebrity chef after innocently putting some pepper on his dinner.
Muir said: “I got a bad feeling when I walked in and noticed that the cutlery was chained to the table. And when my wife asked for one of those squeezy ketchup bottles for her cod and chips, they took her watch as security.
“But I thought no one would mind if I put a little bit of seasoning on my prawn linguine, you know, like is normal in a restaurant. However, as soon as the crack of the pepper mill echoed around the restaurant I knew I’d made a mistake.
“Instantly, Stein was at my table, puce-faced with fury. He grabbed me by my lapels and demanded that I hand over a fiver or I’d be paying with my teeth instead.”
When asked about the charges, Stein blamed inflation, saying: “Look, the cost of living affects us all, even multi-millionaires who charge 30 quid for a basic fish curry.
“Now if you’ll excuse me, I need to brandish this broken snooker cue at someone I saw smuggling in their own sachets of brown sauce.”
