Restaurant in 'no spuds' row

Restaurant in 'no spuds' row

Philip Joseph was stunned by the court papers

A restaurant customer was so incensed at being refused potatoes with his meal he took the owners to court.

Philip Joseph, general manager of the George Hotel, in Hathersage, Derbyshire, was "stunned" to be served with papers to appear at a county court after the incident.

The customer, a man from Sheffield, had demanded that staff add potatoes to his meal during a visit to the hotel in May 2002.

But when staff pointed out that potatoes were not on the menu and politely refused, his temper boiled over.

"He wasn't abusive, but quite animated and gave me a real dressing down in the restaurant dining room," said Mr Joseph.

"Afterwards, we thought nothing more of it but were stunned to be served with papers for a small claims court."

Basis unclear

The restaurant's chef had adopted a policy of serving risotto or a pastry case with main courses.

Mr Joseph added: "Whilst clearly not to this customer's taste, I didn't believe we had done anything wrong."

A judge at Sheffield County Court agreed with the restaurant, ruling that they had not breached any contract with the customer during a hearing in February.

Mr Joseph admits they were never sure exactly what the basis of his claim was, but said the customer told the judge he was "unable to eat a meal without potatoes".

George's restaurant has since put the vegetable back on the menu but not, Mr Joseph insists, as a result of the man's complaint.