A venue of private members club Soho House is being investigated by the local council after a former member of staff raised concerns about rats and out-of-date food allegedly being served. The former staff member told BBC News he was pressured to replace labels on prepared food if it was not sold at the end of the day and said he regularly saw rats at the venue. His contract was terminated two months after he first raised concerns, but Soho House said this was unrelated to his complaints. It added that the food incident was isolated and re-labelling unsold food was not company policy, but it did not comment on the rats claim.
Hackney Council has confirmed it is investigating food safety and hygiene at Soho House’s Shoreditch location. Soho House is a popular haunt for A-list celebrities. Prince Harry and Meghan Markle reportedly had their first date at one of its London venues. The former staff member at Shoreditch House, Kamran Khan, first raised concerns informally about the alleged re-labelling practice before formally filing a complaint with Soho House.
Khan was on probation at the venue when he raised the concerns in July, and his employment was terminated earlier in September. Following his formal complaint, the company investigated and told Khan on 24 August there was evidence to support his claim and steps were being taken to address the matter. Khan claimed the practice continued despite the assurances he was allegedly offered, leading him to complain to Hackney Council instead. A spokesperson for the council said: “We have received a report about food safety and hygiene at Shoreditch House and have opened an investigation.” Speaking to BBC News, Khan said he was told in a probation meeting to continue the practice.
The 30-year-old, who told BBC News he has had several jobs in catering and hospitality said he was told “if I don’t change labels on my own initiative, [they] would take that as a performance concern”. He said he felt compelled to raise the issue because he saw a lot of children and pregnant women at the restaurant. “I told them that I don’t want to be held personally liable for anyone that gets injured,” he said. Food served in a restaurant must legally be labelled with information including the best-before or use-by date.
Khan also said there had been rats at the venue for a long time and that cleaners were told to check daily for rat droppings. A spokesperson for Soho House apologised for the incident, saying: “This is not how we expect our houses to operate and it is not company policy.” They said an external, independent investigation and audit was conducted. “Delivering the highest level of food safety for our members and guests is incredibly important to us,” they added. “For clarity, the former employee’s contract was terminated for reasons entirely unrelated to food labelling.” Soho House membership starts from £291.67 monthly or £204.17 for under-27s.
The group opened its first club in London in 1995, and now has 46 Soho Houses in Europe, North America and Asia, as well a string of other up-market hospitality businesses. The company listed on the New York Stock Exchange in 2021, but its share price dropped sharply in the following years as it struggled to make a profit and fought accusations it was losing its exclusivity. It was bought by a consortium of investors last year, with actor Ashton Kutcher joining the company’s board. Soho House bought for £2bn as Ashton Kutcher joins board
