Pub advertising for new chef bans ‘snowflakes’ from applying

Landlord ‘fed up’ with staff wanting evenings or weekends off and ‘complaining’ when things get busy

Christopher Darnbrough, landlord of the Queen Anne pub, said the advert was “just a laugh, really” (Supplied)

A pub advertising for a new chef has told potential applicants that “snowflakes” will not be considered.

The Queen Anne in Warrington has placed a blackboard outside declaring: “Chef wanted. Please ask inside for details. No snowflakes please!!"

And, in an online post on the family-run boozer’s Facebook page, it says: “If you want to be involved with serving and making the best homemade food that Golborne has to offer, are hardworking and not a snowflake, pop in and have a chat with us."

Landlord Christopher Darnbrough said he felt obliged to make the unorthodox requirement after a series of kitchen workers left the business complaining about the workload and schedules.

“It was just a laugh, really,” the 40-year-old said. “We’ve been getting fed up with – what’s the word here? I don’t want to throw myself under a bus – we’d been getting fed up with flaky people who take a job and then decide they only want to work on their terms.

“They start demanding that they don’t work weekends or evenings, even though this is the hospitality industry, that’s exactly when we need people working. Then suddenly, they have a mysterious illness that means they can’t come in.

“Or it gets busy and they start complaining that it’s too much. As a boss, it’s infuriating. You need it to be busy and you want your staff to thrive on that – not start getting overwhelmed by it all.”

He insisted most people had seen the humour in the ad and it had sparked some supportive discussions in the pub itself.

“The only people who’ve taken offence are online,” he said. “As far as I can tell, they’re snowflakes too.”

He said the pub – which he has run for 16 years – currently has 17 staff and eight vacancies for various roles.