Fired Chef Gets Revenge and Hijacks Restaurant's Twitter

Unfortunately he wanted to have a weekend off this month and Christmas Day this year for family commitments so we thought we'd sack him

— The Plough (@ploughpub) December 15, 2013

What's a chef to do when they get fired right before Christmas? Well, if that chef happens to work at The Plough in Oxfordshire, England he hijacks the restaurant's twitter account and tells the world how much it sucks. Based on the story he told on The Plough's Twitter account (yes, for some reason the tweets are still live as of publishing), the head chef was apparently fired on Sunday for requesting a weekend off in December and also for refusing to work on Christmas Day. He writes: "Unfortunately he wanted to have a weekend off this month and Christmas Day this year for family commitments so we thought we'd sack him." To make matters worse for the restaurant's PR, the tweets also explain that the chef has a 7 and a half month old daughter. As a final dig, the fired chef slams the meat the restaurant sources, writing "So anyway come on down and continue to pay a premium for Australian sirloins, New Zealand lamb and everything else that is bought from asda." (Asda is a British supermarket chain).

According to the Independent, the "rogue" tweeter seems to be chef Jim Knight, who currently describes himself in his Twitter bio as the "Head Chef who was unfairly sacked from @ploughpub a week before christmas." Knight also refers to the incident in his own tweets, and clarifies that he did not in fact "hack" the Twitter account because "I created the account with permission of my ex-employers." If this is the case, it could explain why the tweets have not been deleted yet. Maybe the management let the chef create a Twitter account for the restaurant that they have no access to? Apparently the chef has already gotten a job offer because of the Twitter stunt.

The news hasn't been all bad for The Plough. According to their website's visitor counter, there have been 6,994 visitors in the past 30 days with 6,347 of them visiting the site in the last 24 hours. Besides, this wouldn't be the first time a restaurant has booted an employee for not wanting to work a major holiday. One Pizza Hut manager was fired in November for refusing to make his staff work on Thanksgiving Day, but he was ultimately offered his job back. Below, the tweets in all their glory:

Tweets from @ploughpub:

[Screengrab: @ploughpub]

[Screengrab: @ploughpub]

Happy Christmas everyone

— The Plough (@ploughpub) December 15, 2013

We'd like to inform you that we've just fired our head chef.

— The Plough (@ploughpub) December 15, 2013

Unfortunately he wanted to have a weekend off this month and Christmas Day this year for family commitments so we thought we'd sack him

— The Plough (@ploughpub) December 15, 2013

Yeah a week before Christmas!

— The Plough (@ploughpub) December 15, 2013

We don't care that he has a 7 1/2 month old baby daughter.

— The Plough (@ploughpub) December 15, 2013

So anyway come on down and continue to pay a premium for Australian sirloins, New Zealand lamb and everything else that is bought from asda.

— The Plough (@ploughpub) December 15, 2013

Happy Christmas everyone!!!!!!

— The Plough (@ploughpub) December 15, 2013

Tweets from @chefjimknight:

[Screengrab: @chefjimknight]

Calling all chefs. Is there some sort of forum for naming and shaming bad employers?

— Jim Knight (@chefjimknight) December 15, 2013

@LeKeg1 it's my daughters first Christmas. I wouldn't miss that for ANYTHING.

— Jim Knight (@chefjimknight) December 15, 2013

I would like to make it CRYSTAL CLEAR I have not "hacked" any account. I created the account with permission of my ex-employers. Night x

— Jim Knight (@chefjimknight) December 16, 2013

· @ploughpub [Twitter]
· @chefjimknight [Twitter]
· Plough pub Twitter account posts rogue tweets about head chef who was fired [Independent]
· All Twitter Coverage on Eater [-E-]