Meet the restaurant boss who flouted judges’ orders for years Jason Wells’ restaurant chain has cheated workers, lost 21 tribunal claims – and not paid a single one

I’ve spent the last year investigating how the UK's broken employment tribunal system lets rogue bosses evade justice.

But this is the craziest case,by far. A restaurant chain that lost 21 tribunal claims over several years, yet never paid a single one🧵 www.thebureauinvestigates.com/stories/2026...

We were lucky enough to partner with the UK's best food publication @vittles.bsky.social for this investigation.

Here's their version of the story: open.substack.com/pub/vittles/...

Lessons in Mixology Alice Slater on her quest to perfect her martini recipe, beginning with childhood instruction from her father

Hello friends. I wrote a piece about martinis and my late father for Vittles. Hope ya dig it 🍸🫀

substack.com/@vittles/not...

Food for the People, By the People Stella Swain on the forgotten history of the Land Settlement Association, a government-funded scheme of collective smallholdings operating in the mid-twentieth century

This, from the great @vittles.bsky.social, is a fascinating read:
open.substack.com/pub/vittles/...

Thus is a brilliant piece of writing.
People ask me where labour history writing is. It's in journals like this.

Bad People, Bad Food, Bad Place. Two decades after the 'battle of Rawmarsh', Heather Parry writes about how Jamie Oliverism affected her hometown.

Jamie Oliver and the British food problem

www.vittlesmagazine.com/p/bad-people...

How Chinese Students Transformed British Chinatowns The New Chinatowns. Words by Barclay Bram. Photographs by Chan Yang Kim.

Terrific @vittles.bsky.social series on UK Chinatowns - here, a smart article on how Chinese students in the UK have transformed them www.vittlesmagazine.com/p/the-new-ch... - for a delicious spin on UKHE, for a change

The Vittles Chinatowns Project A special ten-part supplement about Chinatowns in the UK and how they’re changing, guest-edited by Angela Hui.

The @vittles.bsky.social Chinatown project I guest-edited is out! No other neighbourhood has undergone a greater transformation. We have essays on who Chinatown is for? Have students reshaped UK food culture? And ofc a bumper guide on the best places to eat: www.vittlesmagazine.com/p/the-vittle...

Reading my new essay — on mould, eating disorders, and Trans Kids Deserve Better — at the @vittles.bsky.social issue two (Bad Food) launch tonight at Horse Hospital.

Six of One - Myanmar Special The best places to find Burmese food in London, by MiMi Aye, David Jay Paw and Ned Sedgwick. Vittles WWW.VITTLESMAGAZINE.COM [With an image of a bowl of noodles]

I was very glad to be asked by @vittles.bsky.social to contribute to this weekend’s Six of One - Myanmar Special.

I did so for two main reasons

www.vittlesmagazine.com/p/six-of-one... (1/2)

Grain of Terror Why is the Western world so afraid of reheating rice? Joe Zadeh reports. Illustration by Ibrahim Rayintakath

Fascinating essay on *why* some cultures are terrified of reheating rice and others just...do it every day.
The justification cycle - racialised thinking, call to science, appeal to long past and/or 'traditional' wisdom - seems universal for this sort of food story #histFood

Grain of Terror Why is the Western world so afraid of reheating rice? Joe Zadeh reports. Illustration by Ibrahim Rayintakath

Really enjoyed this rice-reheating odyssey from @vittles.bsky.social

www.vittlesmagazine.com/p/grain-of-t...

#food #writing #history #scicomm

‘I once ate a fly thinking it was crispy carbonised meat’: On Ratting Luke Turner on an eating habit he developed while working in restaurants in the late 1990s. Illustration by Antoine Cossé.

I simply love to be able to commission essays like @luketurner.bsky.social piece on 'ratting' – a perverse eating practice he developed working in restaurants at the turn of the millenium. Illustration by Antoine Cossé

In today's @vittles.bsky.social (free)

www.vittlesmagazine.com/p/i-once-ate...

‘I once ate a fly thinking it was crispy carbonised meat’: On Ratting Luke Turner on an eating habit he developed while working in restaurants in the late 1990s. Illustration by Antoine Cossé.

I've written about how my troubled relationship with food was helped by "ratting" – the decadent habit of restaurant staff scarfing customers' abandoned food, and one that gives a thrill in the domestic kitchen. The ratter, you see, is hornier than most...

www.vittlesmagazine.com/p/i-once-ate...

Vittles 2: Lauren J Joseph, Sheena Patel, & Odhran O’Donoghue A discussion of the relationship between food and the erotic, to celebrate the second print issue of Vittles

Sex and food at the LRB Bookshop with a discussion by writers Sheena Patel and Lauren J Joseph whose work is in the new issue of @vittles.bsky.social magazine!

www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/vittles-2-...

The Curious Case of the Beano Cafes How a network of Turkish-owned cafes became a Kent institution, by Rosella Dello Ioio

A fun read from @vittles.bsky.social to start the week.

The Real ‘Life in the UK’ Test Vitoria Croda examines Britain's obsession with the meal deal.

My latest piece for @vittles.bsky.social

I hope others can relate!

open.substack.com/pub/vittles/...

The Vittles 99: The Full List By popular demand.

london is one of the greatest food cities in the world. for the last few years, i’ve been writing this for @vittles.bsky.social: a guide to everything interesting about eating in london right now, from fine dining to diaspora restaurants. i hope you enjoy it!

www.vittlesmagazine.com/p/the-vittle...

honestly, none! just photos due in the meal but you usually remember what’s worth remembering (although i’m losing my memory so maybe i should start)

Chloe-Rose Crabtree's Mushroom Stroganoff Focaccia A recipe for fluffy focaccia with pockets of richly flavoured mushroom stroganoff. Words by Chloe-Rose Crabtree. Images by Georgia Rudd.

This was *delicious* when I had it earlier this year – if you are after a weekend baking project, I highly recommend Chloe's mushroom stroganoff focaccia !

www.vittlesmagazine.com/p/chloe-rose... @vittles.bsky.social

Vittles magazine has an interview with me discussing the Michelin Guide in their latest edition (on Substack or by print subscription at £45 a year).

My new essay on mould, disorder, and trans life in the UK is out now in issue two of @vittles.bsky.social : www.vittlesmagazine.com/p/vittles-is...

Vittles Christmas Gift Guide 2025 The Bad Food Edition: over fifty silly, fun and delicious gift ideas suggested by the contributors to Vittles’ second print issue.

Gift Guide is out!

www.vittlesmagazine.com/p/vittles-ch...

Vittles Christmas Gift Guide 2025 The Bad Food Edition: over fifty silly, fun and delicious gift ideas suggested by the contributors to Vittles’ second print issue.

Screaming, crying, throwing up open.substack.com/pub/vittles/...

The Myth of Sisyphus Mariam Abdel-Razek asks: why are chefs expected to love what they do? Illustration by Sing Yun Lee.

An excellent piece in @vittles.bsky.social by one of our recent @royalcollegeofart.bsky.social Writing graduates, Mariam Abdel-Razek.

The Myth of Sisyphus Mariam Abdel-Razek asks: why are chefs expected to love what they do? Illustration by Sing Yun Lee.

Such a good piece up today on @vittles.bsky.social by Mariam Abdel-Razek (and incred illustration by Sing Yun Lee, too)

www.vittlesmagazine.com/p/the-myth-o...

'You want to imagine what this tastes like? Fuck you, says AI' Georgina Voss on how AI-generated images impact the way we look at photographs of food. Illustration by Ibrahim Rayintakath.

This . From @vittles.bsky.social
. Is bloody great.

Adding tongue emojis for emphasis.

👅👅👅👅👅🤩🤩🤩🤩🤩🤩🤩

open.substack.com/pub/vittles/...

'You want to imagine what this tastes like? Fuck you, says AI' Georgina Voss on how AI-generated images impact the way we look at photographs of food. Illustration by Ibrahim Rayintakath.

For @vittles.bsky.social, I wrote about what happens food photography - a practice steeped in stagecraft - meets the synthetic horrors of AI images. Gorgeous original illustration by Ibrahim Rayintakath. www.vittlesmagazine.com/p/you-want-t...

VITTLES Restaurants Is There Anywhere Good to Eat in Bromley? Where to eat in Penge, Welling, Sidcup and Beckenham by Jonathan Nunn, MiMi Aye, Gary Doherty, Apoorva Sripathi, Toyo Odetunde and Tom Jenkins. VITTLES NOV 14

Extremely proud to have
contributed to @vittles.bsky.social
'Six of the Best' South South East London Special and cracking up to discover that *two* of our recommendations are on the exact same road.

Out today!

www.vittlesmagazine.com/p/is-there-a...

Death by Duxelles How modern food culture played a decisive role in the Erin Patterson trial, by Aaron Timms. Illustration by Sing Yun Lee.

"Beef Wellington is a dish designed to dazzle and comfort at once. It offered the perfect cover for Patterson’s plan, dressing intent to kill in the flaky drapery of a culinary showstopper." —Aaron Timms for @vittles.bsky.social

www.vittlesmagazine.com/p/death-by-d...