A ‘sacked’ worker at a private members’ club in London says he was forced to sell out-of-date food to customers by changing the labels.
Kamran Khan claims he was dismissed from his role as a chef at the trendy Soho House in Shoreditch, east London, after voicing his concerns.
In a video widely shared on TikTok and X, the 30-year-old said: ‘I was fired after I complained about people changing labels.’
Hackney Council, which governs part of Shoreditch, has been alerted to the claims of mislabelling food and an investigation has been started, with councillors also sharing his complaints. Soho House is also looking into the claims.
The company operates a number of venues worldwide, including further UK locations on Greek Street in Soho, central London, and Manchester.
Celebrities known to have spent time at Soho House clubs include the Duchess of Sussex and Wayne and Coleen Rooney.
Mr Khan says in his video: ‘Two days ago I was fired from Soho House, the one in Shoreditch.
The Soho House luxury members’ club in Shoreditch boasts 26 bedrooms and a rooftop pool
Kamran Khan, 30, says he was dismissed from his role as a chef at the trendy Soho House in Shoreditch, east London, after highlighting food safety concerns
He reported the venue in Shoreditch, east London, to Hackney Council
Staff are seen in a kitchen at Soho House’s Shoreditch outlet (stock picture)
An aerial view of the Shoreditch club in east London, one of 50 venues worldwide
‘I was fired after I complained about people changing labels and selling out of date food to customers.’
He accused staff of ‘pressuring me to change labels’ and said that senior management upheld his internal complaints, promising to take ‘appropriate action’.
Mr Khan says the practice continued, prompting him to report Soho House Shoreditch to Hackney Council’s environmental health department on September 17.
He told the Daily Mail: ‘I raised it informally at first almost with every single person that was senior to me.
‘Even after the complaint was upheld it carried on happening, it was happening every single day.’
In his written complaint to Hackney Council, shared with the Daily Mail, Mr Khan told of working as a ‘Chef de Partie’ in Soho House Shoreditch’s Pen Yen kitchen.
He says he worked there for four months before his departure earlier in September.
Mr Khan said: ‘Prepared food is being labelled with “use by” dates and when it is not sold by that date, staff are instructed to remove the old label and apply a new one.
Soho House was founded in 1995 by Nick Jones (pictured in December 2022) although he has since sold much of his stake in the company while retaining 10 per cent
‘This practice is ongoing and I have been personally pressured to carry it out.’
He described raising such concerns internally and having them ‘partially upheld’, but added: ‘Nothing has meaningfully changed.
‘I received only vague assurances that “appropriate action” was being taken, while the practices have continued.
‘I have recorded the relabelling of out-of-date food covertly as evidence and it occurs constantly. I believe this poses a real risk to public health.’
Kam Adams, a Labour councillor in Hackney, told the Daily Mail: ‘I can confirm that I was made aware of the allegations regarding food safety and hygiene practices at Soho House Shoreditch.
‘I treated these concerns with urgency and escalated the matter directly to Hackney Council’s food safety and environmental health teams so that an investigation could be carried out.
‘As the investigation is handled by the council’s enforcement teams, I cannot comment further on ongoing operational details.’
In a statement on Tuesday afternoon, Soho House said: ‘We’re really sorry that this isolated food labelling incident took place at one of our kitchens. This is not how we expect our Houses to operate and it is not company policy.
‘We have taken immediate action, including our Director of Health and Safety together with an external independent consultant conducting an investigation as a matter of priority.
‘Delivering the highest level of food safety for our members and guests is incredibly important to us.
‘Shoreditch House has consistently achieved the highest food hygiene rating score of ‘5’ from Environmental Health inspections – including the most recent in March this year – and also performed strongly in an independent and unannounced external audit last week.
‘For clarity, the former employee’s contract was terminated for reasons entirely unrelated to food labelling.’
The first Soho House club was opened in Greek Street, central London, in 1995, with the firm founded by Nick Jones.
It has about a quarter of a million members across 50 venues in 19 countries around the world.
Mr Jones, who is married to broadcaster Kirsty Young, stepped down as chief executive in 2023 and has sold much of his stake in the firm though retains 10 per cent.
A Soho House spokesman said they were aware of Mr Khan’s video and were ‘looking into the matter internally’ but did not have any further comment at this time.
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle had their first date at a Soho House in central London in July 2016, while before her wedding in 2018 the Duchess of Sussex was said to have enjoyed a stay at Soho Farmhouse in the Cotswolds.
Membership at the club costs about £1,500 for global access.
