A UK-based Nigerian restaurateur who “tried to pass off revolting mouldy chicken as a boiled crab” has been fined.
Gaby Kolajo was asked to pay £10,170 in fines and charges for the grim ‘state of his kitchen’ in his West African eatery “Lagos Island” in Leyton, east London.
It was gathered that the council officers first visited Lagos Island in Leyton, east London in 2018 to find a mouse and cockroach infestation. Kolajo was ordered to shut his business down in August of that year, but just days later, he was caught flouting the ruling by hosting a birthday party at the premises.
He responded by telling officers who caught him that only one half of the premises had been shut down.
But when searching the restaurant after the birthday party, horrified officers found what they believed was a container of mouldy chicken in the kitchen. When questioned about the content, the council disclosed that he said it was a speciality traditional Nigerian dish of boiled crab.
Despite being ordered to shut his doors to the public while he improved Lagos Island’s hygiene, he was caught hosting a birthday party on September 1. Again, he tried to lie and claimed the hygiene emergency prohibition order was for a different restaurant, but this did not fly either.
On December 7, Kolajo appeared at Stratford Magistrates Court and was found guilty of failing to keep his business clean or control pests, serving customers despite an imminent health risk and serving food “unfit for human consumption”.
