A chef who became a star after posting on TikTok has told those who criticised the lack of diversity in the staff of his West London restaurant to “calm down”.
Late last week Thomas Straker posted pictures of eight members of the cooking team at his Notting Hill restaurant, with the caption “chef team assembled”. Commentators responded to his post in their droves, saying it proved the food world was a “white boys’ club”. One asked: “Why aren’t there any female chefs?”
Straker, who is fourth from right in the line up of chefs, then hit back, explaining: “There is a shortage of chefs [and] hospitality workers”, adding: “Please go and gather CVs of any chefs you think we’re missing in the team. Solutions not problems.” Not everyone was won over by his words, and he added another comment on Monday.
“On Friday night, I put up a post of my chef team and many rightly pointed out the lack of diversity in it. I am very sorry for my initial response, where some queried whether I take this issue seriously,” he said online.
“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.”
Straker gained millions of followers online for posting ASMR butter videos, among other things, and has since opened a well-reviewed restaurant called Straker’s.
