Neil Perry’s Burger Project caught up in racism row
Celebrity chef Neil Perry has stepped in to defuse a backlash over an African Australian man who found a racially derogatory and insulting term on his receipt from one of the stores in Melbourne.
Nicholas Muchinguri got a receipt that labelled his order “#16 n****s”.
Mr Muchinguri posted it on Twitter saying: “Totally disgusting in this day and age!”
The parent company, Rockpool Dining Group, acted as soon as it learned of the insult.
It issued an apology on the Burger Project’s Facebook page overnight.
“As soon as we became aware of the matter this afternoon, when we were contacted on the behalf of the customer, we acted: we reached out and apologised and the employee’s position was terminated,” the statement read.
“The employee’s behaviour was in breach of our code of conduct and such behaviour won’t be tolerated.”
But Perry went even further.
According to Mr Muchinguri’s wife, Rutendo Ruth Muchinguri, the chef who is also the chief brand and culinary officer of the Rockpool Dining Group, called her husband to apologise.
The one-on-one contact was deeply appreciated.
“We also want to thank Neil Perry for calling Nicholas first thing this morning to offer an apology on behalf of the company,” Ms Muchinguri wrote on Facebook.
“We felt that the initial response of the The Burger Project was more concerned about its public image than the hurt caused. It was stated that they reached out to apologise as soon as they were aware of the incident and, as mentioned, Nicholas received an apology this morning, not last night.”
She also thanked everyone for their support.
“As we read through the numerous comments that condemn what happened, we were encouraged that the majority of people see how wrong and hurtful this situation is,” she wrote.
Still, she conceded there was some way to go.
“It’s concerning to see that there are some comments that perpetuate this type of prejudice and racism. We’ve come a long way but there is still more to do and more conversations to be had,” Ms Muchinguri wrote.
by Leon Gettler, May 23rd 2017
