TikTok chef Thomas Straker sparks hospitality diversity row

A FoodTok star turned Notting Hill restaurant owner sparked fierce criticism after he posted a picture of his all-white, all-male kitchen team on Instagram.

Thomas Straker quickly gained a multi-million social media following during the pandemic, with videos of his butter recipes frequently going viral on Instagram and TikTok. But his internet success “took a turn” last week, said The Times, when he posted three pictures to Instagram captioned “Chef team assembled”.

Two of the three images “show what looks to be an identity parade of white male chefs in a row”, said Hot Dinners. And the chef’s “many followers were quick to point out the glaring lack of diversity in his team”.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

Baker Melissa Martin said: “This post shows a blatant example of how much fine dining is still a white boys’ club”. Another Instagram user, who goes by the handle @tcblu, said: “The main issue is that in the most diverse city in the world, in the poorest part of the richest borough of the country, not only have you managed to hire any female chefs but not a single POC.”

Some users “rushed to defend Straker’s posts”, said the Daily Mail, “and insisted that his chefs being all-male and white was irrelevant”. Others “warned against ‘box ticking’”, said The Times.

In what Hot Dinners described as a “rather passive-aggressive response” posted last week, Straker said: “Honestly, people need to calm down. Firstly there is a shortage of chefs/hospitality workers. Secondly if you feel so passionately please go and gather CVs of any chefs you think we’re missing in the team. Solutions not problems.”

Straker’s comments “only served to stoke the fire”, said Hot Dinners. “A slew of critical commentary and memes” have since “circulated on social media”, said ES Magazine’s food and drink editor Joanna Taylor.

Writer Otegha Uwagba also pointed out that in November last year, Straker had told GQ: “We haven’t struggled with staff”, adding that his online profile had “really helped” to “pull in chefs”.

Straker “appeared to back down” yesterday, said the Daily Mail. An apology posted on the restaurant and chef’s accounts said: “I am very sorry for my initial response. 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.”

“A sincere apology?” asked Taylor. “You decide.”