Chef gives £1,000 meal bill to waitress and bans 'rude' diners for life

A chef banned an affluent group of diners from his restaurant after they reportedly "disrespected, touched unwantedly and talked down to" a 22-year-old waitress.

The chef shared that he's given his waitress the entire £1,000 they paid after she endured the horrifying incident.

Lee Skeet, from Cardiff, who has worked for top chefs such as Gordon Ramsay, Marcus Wareing and Tom Aikens, took to Twitter to explain why he would be banning the customers who paid 'the biggest bill' his restaurant, Cora, had ever seen.

He initially shared. that he would be returning the unnamed party's entire bill - minus £100 as he believed that hey should've tipped his employee, Lily.

Now, the chef has said he believes he reacted "too quickly and emotionally last night" and instead has chosen to keep the money the diners paid and gave it to his employee.

"I would thank you to never come back to my restaurant. Lily means a lot more to me than money," he wrote in an email to the diners, according to his Twitter post.

Lee said that he shared his response to the customers online because "we should start calling out rich people who think they can treat people like c***." As a result, he has received praise from social media users.

He further wrote, "Dear... I wanted to firstly thank you for choosing my restaurant for your meal tonight, and I understand you had the biggest bill we've ever had on one table here."

"Unfortunately throughout the evening I was made aware that your party's behaviour was inappropriate towards Lily, who runs front of house."

"She has told me that - as a 22-year-old girl - she was talked down to, disrespected and touched unwantedly by members of your group," he continued. "I have spent the last hour having conversations with her that break my heart, make me feel like a s*** employer, and a terrible dad, having my own daughter."

"Please provide your bank details and I will refund your entire bill of £1,000 minus £100 that I believe you should have tipped Lily - which I will pay directly to her - as you left no tip. I would thank you to never come back to my restaurant. Lily means a lot more to me than money. I also think you should assess the people you surround yourself with."

After sitting on the issue, however, his stance changed,

"On reflection I reacted too quickly and emotionally last night. Sorry I was a little bit angry and protective. I’m not going to refund the customer’s money. I’ve instead kept it and transferred to Lily x" he wrote.

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