Florida Chili's cook fired for posting shirtless photos labeled 'Sexy Cooks of Chili's'
Justin Speekz, a cook at a Chili's restaurant in Valrico, Florida, was fired after shirtless photos of him taken in the restaurant's kitchen went viral.
Speekz posted the photos to Facebook with the title "Sexy Cooks of Chili's." Two of the images included Speekz lying on a kitchen table where food is prepared. And while the photos didn't actually violate any health codes — no food was being prepared when they were taken — Chili's issued a statement that the chain "does not encourage this type of behavior."
"We maintain very high standards of food quality, safety, and cleanliness and took immediate steps to ensure the restaurant continues to follow these requirements," Chili's said in a statement. "Additionally, we ended this team member's employment after learning of his conduct."
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Speekz's food preparation career may be over, but he already has a fallback: He moonlights as Tampa rapper J-Speekz.
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Meghan DeMaria is a staff writer at TheWeek.com. She has previously worked for USA Today and Marie Claire.
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