Chef Adam Handling hits out at customers' 'completely unacceptable' behaviour that left animals dead

Warning: this article contains content that some readers may find disturbing.

A celebrity chef has launched a scathing rant, condemning ‘evil’ restaurant customers who allowed their dog and children to run riot in his restaurant’s chicken coop.

Adam Handling, who won the Champion of Champions title on Great British Menu in 2023, recently took to social media to share some heartbreaking news: some of his chickens were maimed and sadly died in a dog attack.

The incident took place at his Cornwall institution, The Tartan Fox, where employees head into the coop every morning to pick up fresh eggs. The produce is used to create the pub’s famous Scotch eggs.

Additionally, children have apparently headed into the coop on their own accord, scooped up eggs, and destroyed them in an act of senseless violence.

Handling, 37, discovered the damage after finding a trove of fertilised eggs missing.

He later found that the eggs had been smashed off a nearby tree, with baby chicks strewn around the bottom of its trunk.

“I’m incredibly sad to have to share this, but some of our beloved chickens have sadly passed away,” the Michelin-starred chef wrote on Instagram.

“On Sunday, a family visiting @tartanfoxpub allowed their dog to attack and seriously injure several of our girls. Their children also entered the chicken coop and smashed the eggs.

“This behaviour is completely unacceptable. Our chickens are part of the Tartan Fox family and are here for everyone to enjoy and care for.”

The Scottish native continued, lamenting that the ‘selfish actions of a few people’ have caused ‘unnecessary suffering’ for both the animals and staff who care for them daily.

Despite best efforts, some of the chickens involved in the dog attack sadly succumbed to their injuries and died, the chef confirmed in an emotional video.

He also said he didn’t ‘understand’ how parents could have allowed ‘selfish little brats’ to go into the chicken coop, collect between 30 and 40 fertilised eggs, and ‘smash them against a tree’.

“I’m so disappointed. I’m so hurt. I love the chickens so much and you had them killed,” he continued, adding that the family involved were ‘evil’.

In the Instagram caption, the restaurateur who was a finalist on MasterChef: The Professionals in 2013 took the time to thank members of his team who tried to save the poultry flock.

“To my team, who did everyone they could to nurse them back to health, thank you. Your care, compassion and hard work mean the world.”

Handling, who runs two Michelin-starred restaurants - Frog by Adam Handling and Ugly Butterfly - has had his video viewed more than 250,000 times since it was posted.

Thousands of heartbroken fans have been weighing in on the tragedy.

“I am so sorry to hear this and incredibly angry,” one user typed.

A second said: “Well done for calling them out - awful behaviour. So sorry to hear this.”

“Omg that’s shocking. I hope they didn’t just get to walk away without some consequences. People who are capable of doing this with no remorse or feelings, are capable of anything,” replied someone else.

Another said: “I am so sorry and quite honestly as a dog owner ashamed to hear this. We are so looking forward to visiting on holiday next week with our two little dogs who will be on leads at all times.”

In the wake of the ordeal, Handling told The Telegraph that procedures at The Tartan Fox are ‘changing’.

“It’s a lesson we’ve had to learn the hard way. We’re putting cameras in the coops, motion detectors, and it sounds simple but extra signage of things we thought were common sense,” he said.

“This is a lesson I wanted to call out for educational purposes. The dog element, that was a mistake by stupidity from a dog owner. If you come to one of my pubs, it’s like coming to my house.”