A dispute between an Irish café and one of its customers has caught the attention of social media with people divided on who was in the right.
Dukes is a family-run coffee shop in Cork. They recently had a customer who arrived with her own scrambled eggs bagel wrapped in tinfoil and ordered only a cup of boiling water and some porridge.
The staff at Dukes complied with the order and then watched in shock as the woman sat down and began eating her own self-made breakfast.
The bemused workers at Dukes approached the woman on bringing in her own food, and she was apparently ‘disgusted’ by the challenge.
Dukes told Cork Beo: “We’ve a ‘customer’ who is eating her own bagel & scrambled egg (made at home I presume) she also made her own tea (she asked for boiling water & cup) …. she did order our porridge and then sat down and started eating her own breakfast.
“She was disgusted when challenged.
“I like Beamish but my local doesn’t serve it. I’d never bring a can of beamish in and start drinking it.”
The incident created an interesting debate online as to whether or not it is OK to bring your own food into a café or restaurant.
Some people pointed out that the woman may have special dietary requirements, and so would need to prepare her own meals to ensure they don’t contain anything that could be harmful for her.
However, most commentators were on the side of Dukes, thinking that it isn’t acceptable to bring your own meal and sit and eat it in an establishment that serves food.
The team at the neighbouring Bulman Pub in Cork were quick to take the side of their fellow business owners.
They said Dukes were ‘dead right’ to challenge the lady, adding: “If she gave herself food poisoning you guys would probably get the blame.”