Head chef at Britain’s best restaurant verbally abused me, diner claims

Donna Southby says cook Gareth Ward at Ynyshir in Wales appeared to challenge her husband to a fight

It was supposed to be the dinner of a lifetime at a restaurant last week anointed Britain’s best. But instead of finishing with a sweet flourish of banana ice-cream and birch syrup, a meal at Ynyshir in Wales ended in a bitter dispute between the star chef and two of his customers.

Donna Southby, who was dining with her husband, Mark, and friends at the two-Michelin-starred restaurant on the edge of Snowdonia or Eryri national park, claims she was subject to a tirade of “verbal abuse” from the head chef, Gareth Ward, a feted cook from County Durham known for his uncompromising approach and 30-course menus. In a clash that will reignite debate over the culture of elite restaurants, the restaurant has countered, accusing their customer of being “unpleasant and rude” to hardworking staff.