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Rolling Pins, Fry Baskets Prove Heroic As London Riots Escalate

The first line of defense.
The first line of defense. Photo: iStockphoto

As you probably know, the violence in London is only getting worse, so much so that riots rolled right up to the front door of a fancy restaurant yesterday: Cooks at the two-Michelin-starred Notting Hill restaurant the Ledbury bravely defended guests with rolling pins and fryer baskets last night when rioters entered during service and began robbing customers. “Around the fourth dish of the tasting course, there were loud bangs outside,” writes one food blogger who was on the scene. Soon, masked and hooded looters entered the restaurant and smashed its windows, demanding guests’ jewelry and phones.

Amid the chaos, the report says, “the kitchen staff at the Ledbury went beyond their call of duty by rushing up from the kitchen with rolling pins, fry baskets, and other dangerous kitchen tools and scared off the looters.” After a brief respite, champagne and whisky were passed; when word arrived a second wave was on its way, staff ushered guests into the restaurant’s wine cellar and locked them in for their own protection. The three days of civil unrest (so far) began in North London on Saturday and have resulted in some of the worst violence the country has seen since World War II.

London riots: kitchen staff at Notting Hill restaurant The Ledbury protect diners with rolling pins [Telegraph UK]

Rolling Pins, Fry Baskets Prove Heroic As London Riots Escalate