Top chef fights 'racist' sacking

Managers at Via Fossa in Cardiff Bay deny the claims

An award-winning black chef was branded a "mango-eater" and a "monkey" by managers of a plush Cardiff restaurant, an employment tribunal has heard.

Former Wales Chef of the Year Paul Ford claimed he was the target of racial discrimination by the husband and wife owners of the Via Fossa in Cardiff Bay.

Paul Ford said he was unfairly dismissed

He claimed he was unfairly dismissed from his job two days after complaining about the insults.

The tribunal was told Via Fossa owner and former army sergeant Ian Kirkwood and his wife ran the restaurant "like a military establishment."

Mixed-race Mr Ford, 36, who once worked under television chef Gordon Ramsay at a London restaurant and won the Welsh accolade in 1998, claimed Mr Kirkwood and wife Gaynor called him "jungle boy," "Paki boy" and "jalfrezi."

Welsh winner

He said: "I was shocked and upset. I've never been called names before in my 19 years experience in the catering industry.

"I've been offered work but I feel like everyone's talking about me behind my back.

"It really hit my confidence because I trusted Ian and Gaynor. I can't trust anyone now."

The managers of the £1.5m restaurant fired Mr Ford, who trained in France, on hygeine grounds

If a health inspector had walked in, then this beautiful restaurant would have been closed down.

Restaurant manager Ian Kirkwood

five weeks after opening last June.

The Kirkwoods and owners Scottish and Newcastle Retail Ltd deny the allegations of unfair dismissal.

But fellow chef Michael Yates told the tribunal Mrs Kirkwood had said he would never get another job "because he was black."

He said: "She said he was no good and staff at a nearby bar were told by the Kirkwoods that he was dirty and untrustworthy.

"But there was nothing wrong with his hygiene standards."

'No good'

Mr Kirkwood, however, maintained that Mr Ford was legitimately sacked.

< He told the tribunal: "His grasp on health and hygiene was poor. I had a major problem in the kitchen where hygiene regulations were being broken constantly.

"If a health inspector had walked in, then this beautiful restaurant would have been closed down.

"Kitchen food was left to be trodden on the floor or kicked under units. Food and sauces were left out overnight.

"It was nothing to do with race or colour. Mr Ford has claimed racial discrimination to hide the fact that he was dismissed for unhygienic practices."

The hearing continues.