Tom Kitchin restaurant staff suspended in wake of bullying allegations | UK news

Tom Kitchin, one of the UK’s most celebrated TV chefs, has suspended two members of staff and launched an independent investigation after a string of anonymous allegations from former staff that include historic claims of bullying and physical assault in his restaurants.

Former staff have complained on social media that they faced a “toxic workplace”, with accounts including allegations that members of staff had been assaulted by senior chefs – including a case that resulted in a burn.

Kitchin runs the Kitchin, a Michelin-starred restaurant in Edinburgh, and the Scran and Scallie, a gastropub in the same city. He has been a guest judge on BBC One’s MasterChef and appeared on the Great British Menu. His flagship restaurant in Leith docks was named the UK’s best in 2011 by Square Meal.

Peter Southcott, the managing director of the Kitchin Group, said in a statement on Friday: “Following allegations of unacceptable behaviour, two senior members of staff have been suspended while these claims are fully and independently investigated. We will not hesitate to take whatever action may be necessary.”

Kitchin, 44, who received a Michelin star aged just 29 after training with top French chefs, said: “Top kitchens the world over can be high-pressure, frenetic and challenging environments where emotions often run high. However, the exacting standards of our food and service must be matched by the standards of behaviour in our kitchens and wider operations.

“In the last few years, the feedback from our team members underlines the significant strides we’ve taken to improve what had often been a traditional culture in our kitchens, but we have more to do.

“Where we have fallen short, we will address it and remedy it. That will be our clear priority in the weeks, months and years ahead.”

A spokesperson for the company declined to comment on the allegations of physical assault or of a “toxic culture”.

The claims emerged on an Instagram page in the last two weeks. One of the people who posted a story about working for the Kitchin Group in 2017 alleged that a senior chef – not Kitchin – hit a hot tray so it burned his forearms because the chef was upset that the food he was cooking was overdone.

“It was incredibly painful. I was so angry and upset I almost went for him,” he told the Guardian. “What stopped me was the shame of the idea of being sacked from a Michelin-star kitchen.”

Another former staff member who left the group in 2019 alleged that they had witnessed a pan being thrown in the kitchen and described the working environment as “toxic, unhealthy, and harmful”.

“It’s quite clear that this culture is an ‘old fine-dining French way’,” they told the Guardian. “All of these chefs and front-of-house professionals were taught that through pain, suffering and sacrifice, you can get to greatness. It is becoming clear that is not the case any more.”