Oliver Cracks Over Egg Blunder
FURIOUS Jamie Oliver has vowed to wield the axe at Fifteen Cornwall after the restaurant was caught serving eggs from battery chickens.
The TV chef said "heads will roll" after the embarrassing blunder, which comically coincided with Oliver`s rant over battery hen egg production on his show Jamie`s Fowl Dinners.
As the show was being aired on Channel 4 last friday night, a chicken farmer spotted the battery egg on the counter of the restaurant`s open-plan kitchen.
The farmer took pictures of the egg while being given a tour of the restaurant kitchen by a waiter.
Jamie told the Daily Mirror: "I am speechless. We have cast iron rules on what any chef can and cannot buy in all Fifteens.
"I can`t stop thinking it seems a coincidence this one-off has happened the week my programme airs. I`ve never been so disappointed. Heads will roll."
It has now emerged that Fifteen Cornwall bought 360 battery chicken eggs when a regular supplier of free range eggs failed to deliver the stock.
A source at the restaurant said: "The farmer asked to see an egg. A waiter brought him an egg but the customer said `This is a battery chicken egg`.
"The staff were shocked a chef could make such a stupid mistake - everyone is upset and the remaining battery eggs were thrown away."
Restaurant chief executive Dave Meneer said: "We can only apologise and have taken steps to ensure this cannot happen again.
"We are very sorry for any embarrassment this may have caused Jamie. I`m sure it is the last thing he needed.
"I was at home watching Jamie on TV when this happened - the timing was amazing, you just couldn`t have written the script. I barely believed it when I was told - but it`s a fair cop.
"We were too complacent and should have checked the source. I could go throwing my weight around firing people, but I don`t see where that gets you.
"I`ve got a cracking team of chefs and I need them all, but I have been reading the riot act because this was fundamental to how we do business."
Chefs use around 800 eggs a week at Fifteen Cornwall, which has served 120,000 diners since opening in Watergate Bay, Newquay, in May 2006. Some meals there cost £50 a head.
The restaurant employs 16 trainee chefs from disadvantaged backgrounds and another 19 youngsters are in college waiting to take up jobs.
