A London-based chef has apologised for what his peers branded a “rude” response towards criticism, after he faced backlash online for revealing the line-up of his kitchen team at his Notting Hill restaurant. Thomas Straker, who opened his namesake restaurant Straker’s in 2022, recently shared a photograph of his “chef team” comprising eight people, including himself. All eight members of the team pictured were white and male, prompting complaints from social media users who believed it did not reflect the diversity of London. Some comments claimed Straker’s team showed how the food industry was a “white boy’s club”, while others urged the restaurateur to provide chefs from minority groups a “safe place to grow as chefs”. Straker, who found fame by sharing his recipes and cooking videos on TikTok, responded to the negative backlash by commenting: “Honestly, people need to calm down. Firstly, there is a shortage of chefs/hospitality workers. Secondly, if you feel so passionately, please go and gather CVs of any chefs you think we’re missing in the team. Solutions not problems. Thank you.” However, his response has also been criticised as “rude”, with a number of chefs and other figures in the food industry weighing in on the online storm. He has since shared an apology via his Instagram Story. “On Friday night, I put up a post of my chef team and many rightly pointed out the lack of diversity in it. I am very sorry for my initial response, where some queried whether I take this issue seriously,” he said. “I am absolutely committed to ensuring diversity in my restaurants, unfortunately we aren’t achieving this in my kitchens currently and this is an area I know I need to improve on, making sure it is seen as a welcoming and approachable environment for all. Tom x.” Becky Paskin, a drinks expert who appears regularly on ITV’S Love Your Weekend, wrote on Straker’s original post: “Too often we say, ‘We only recruit on the basis of the best people for the job’ without any consideration the role bias plays in the selection process. “It’s been proven time and again that diverse teams are more creative, productive and successful. If every member looks the same and has the same background, you’ll find they’ll all think the same as well. Forming diverse teams is not only the right thing to do, it makes business sense too.” US chef Kenji Lopez-Alt, who is known for his book The Food Lab: Better Home Cooking Through Science, added: “Get off the social media for a week or so. Do some reflection. Talk to people who care about you and who you trust. Be better.” However, some people have defended Straker’s choice to hire who he wants in his team, and pointed out the staff shortage affecting the entire restaurant industry. Henry Tilley, restaurant manager at Native in London, wrote: “The industry is on its knees right now. There [aren’t] enough chefs or even [front-of-house staff] to go around as it is. We would love some applications for chef positions in our restaurants from female or non-binary individuals. The reality of the matter is we never get the applications so can’t be as representative as we’d like.” But Ben Mulock, executive chef of Balans in Soho, says the onus is on senior chefs to “solve the problem” of lack of diversity, instead of “asking others to solve it for us”. He told The Independent: “I am a white male executive chef, so it is my responsibility to push for an inclusive workforce, be that sex, age or ethnicity. They are not mutually exclusive – they are all important. “No, it’s not easy and at the moment, it almost seems impossible to recruit, but if we don’t try, we don’t move it forward. We always need to do better for this industry, and if we can’t do it in London, where can we?” While Straker’s post was not intended to stir controversy, the lack of diversity in his team has “shone a light on the broader challenges we face in kitchens these days”, Hannah Norris of Nourish PR said. “This is a classic case of an ill thought-out post,” she told The Independent. “Thomas Straker has issued what he believed was a photo of a group of confident, strong-looking chefs ready for service but didn’t think about the optics of the image and what it represented. “Whilst it was well-meaning I believe, a picture doesn’t lie. For whatever reason, he currently has no women or people of colour in his kitchen, so it all looks a bit ‘pale, male and stale’. Perhaps the reaction to this image will make Thomas think again a bit more carefully about who he wants to employ in the future.” The Independent has contacted Straker for comment. Read More The dish that defines me: Frank Yeung’s prawn wontons Between Brexit and Covid, London’s food scene has become a dog’s dinner – can it be saved? Prince William serves up vegetarian ‘Earthshot burgers’ to shocked diners Restaurant introduces ‘minimum spend’ that sees solo diners pay double to eat alone Restaurant with ‘tips are a privilege’ policy sparks intense backlash on social media How to make the Prince of Wales’s Earthshot burger

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Summer and smalls… it’s the yin and yang of our wash-day world. You’ve got a bit hot and sweaty at lunchtime, but you’ve only worn your favourite lacy bralette once… so it’s OK to put it back in the drawer, right? And then there’s the sports bra in your gym bag – it’s looking a little bit grubby but you can’t remember perspiring in your Pilates class. Here, experts shed some light on how you should be looking after your lingerie, along with some do’s and don’ts… How often should you wash your bra? “Realistically, if your bra hasn’t been worn for sports or on a particularly hot day, then we would advise washing every three to four wears,” says Rachael Burdis, product and marketing assistant at Pretty Polly. “If you leave it too long, then it will allow bacteria to build up and you could get dreaded boob spots; or even worse your bra could start to smell,” warns Burdis. Do you need to hand wash your bra or can you put it in the washing machine? We’ve all read the small print… some labels recommend hand washing but is this really necessary? Fabric plays a huge part in not only how often, but also how you wash your bras, says Burdis. “We all know bras are delicate garments and ideally, we should be hand-washing them each time in warm water – this keeps the bras’ shape and maintains the quality of the materials used. “However, I think we can all say we’re guilty of not doing that all the time – but we should try our best!” With fine fabrics like silk and fragile laces, she says they should always be hand-washed to avoid any additional wear and tear. If you’re pushed for time and your bra is going in the washing machine, Dinara Akhmerova, senior manager UK and Ireland for Simone Pérèle, advocates a detergent made specifically for delicates. “We recommend you don’t add softener as it can stay in the fibres for longer and reduce elasticity. Also, wash on a delicates setting at maximum 30C and no more than 800 RPM spin.” She also suggest using a bra wash bag to protect your underwired bras – and always dry lingerie flat to keep the shape. Does it matter if you wear the same bra for a week, even in summer? “We wouldn’t advise wearing a bra for a week; whether that be summer or winter, just to avoid any bacteria build-up,” says Burdis. “We also know length of time worn plays a huge part when deciding when to wash your bra.” If it’s been for a couple of hours a day, she says you could have a week’s worth of wear. But for a full day’s wear, she wouldn’t advise wearing your bra for a week. For matching sets, should you always wash knickers and bras together, so they don’t become different shades? “We tend to wash our knickers more often than bras – and good-quality lingerie shouldn’t fade so dramatically that you can see a marked difference, simply from not washing them together on a few occasions,” says Akhmerova. However, how well your lingerie maintains its colour depends on many factors, such as how careful you are when washing it, the type of fabric and colour, suggests Akhmerova. “Whether you wash your sets together or not, the number one rule is to always separate colours, especially your whites. Just don’t mix the colours! “Also, don’t use bleach on whites,” she warns. “It’s more likely to turn lingerie yellow than brighten it.” What about sports bras? For sports bras, Burdis sees this a little differently: “With a less intense low-impact workout, we advise every two wears. “But when it comes to a heavy gym session, long run or HIIT class, we advise after each wear to ensure you are always smelling fresh – and the bra isn’t accumulating bacteria.” Should you wash you underwear before wearing it, if it’s brand new? “Underwear should leave factories or packing houses clean as strict hygiene rules are in place,” says Akhmerova. “But it never hurts to give it a rinse out before the first wear.” Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live 5 late summer blooms to plant now This is why you keep waking up at 4am – and what you can do about it The two best exercises for lowering blood pressure, according to study

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