An Athlone family was left gagging when their Sunday lunch was ruined by a deep-fried kakkerlak on their Ocean Basket
seafood platter.
Tasneem Paulse, 27, says the family of nine had an even more bitter taste in their mouths when they got into a bekgeveg with the manager of the restaurant in Canal Walk, after he failed to apologise for the naar incident.
“My 17-year-old sister, Elaine Titus, ordered the platter for one from the kiddies menu. She called me over to see her plate and I got a skrik when I saw there was a cockroach stuck onto a calamari head.
"It was basically fried onto it,” explains Tasneem.
She took a picture and called for the
manager, who took the plate to the kitchen manager to investigate.
But Tasneem stripped her moer when she witnessed the manager simply throwing it away.
“The manager was so rude and insinuated I put it (the gogga) on there, so I picked it up to show him it was vas.
"I started skelling with him because if they were going to investigate, why just throw the plate away?” she says.
Tasneem says the family was told they did not have to pay for the food eaten, but
were mif that the manager didn’t bother apologising.
“He didn’t even take my contact details and I questioned how they would give me feedback, but my sister asked that we leave. I was so naar and I worry about the children, they don’t know the difference. They just put things in their mouths. Who knows how many kakkerlakke they ate?”
SO GROSS! Family found a kakkerlak in their dite
Ocean Basket chief executive Grace Harding says she is "devastated that the
customer has had this horrible experience”.
“Pest control and hygiene are non-negotiable for Ocean Basket and we are grateful that this was brought to our attention.
“It’s a freak incident that happens extremely rarely. We immediately reviewed the latest pest control and hygiene reports. This restaurant has had the all-clear on these reports for 19 years without incident. It is an extremely clean environment.
She says the staff were briefed and a deep cleaning was done.
"Pest control audits are done monthly and the last one was done on 16 January.”
Tasneem says since she reported the kakkerlak to the Daily Voice, Ocean Basket has offered her a R500 voucher.
“They offered the R500 voucher to say sorry, but I am too naar and can never even think of eating there again.
"I told them if their manager had handled it differently, I would not have taken it so far, but it’s the principle,” she says.