Chef strangled and punched colleague after a row over potato croquettes

A fight over croquette potatoes led to one chef trying to strangle another at Cantley House Hotel (Picture: Cantley House Hotel/Rex)

A potato-throwing row between two chefs at a posh hotel ended in a violent assault, a court has heard.

The argument between the two cooks started over potato croquettes and resulted in one man strangling and punching his kitchen colleague.

Rashim Salim, 35, and his victim, known only as Mr Bardu, threw potatoes at each other just before he lunged for the man.

Salim was handed an 18-month community sentence at Reading crown court for the assault causing actual bodily harm, which he admitted.

The judge heard he had grabbed his colleague by the throat and punched him three times in the incident on January 27 at the 38-bedroom Cantley House Hotel in upmarket Wokingham, Berkshire.

The row about potato croquettes boiled over, the court heard (Picture: Food And Drink/REX/Shutterstock)

Judge Joanna Matson heard how Salim, of Challener Road, High Wycombe, was involved in a heated argument with Mr Barbu.

The confrontation spiralled with a row over potatoes and croquettes taking place.

Prosecutor Shaan Sethi described the incident to the court, saying that Salim had ‘grabbed the complainant by the neck and squeezed’ before punching him in the torso three times.

However, Judge Matson stated that after checking the CCTV footage from the incident that the strangulation was not prolonged.

Defence counsel for Salim, Adele Pullarp told the court that Salim was holding down two jobs that helped to pay child maintenance costs for his older children.

The judge heard that he had been diagnosed with stage five kidney failure in 2020 and had to undergo dialysis.

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She added that he was a successful chef who had maintained a romantic relationship over the last five years.

The judge heard that Salim had previous convictions for violence from 2015 but these were not taken as an aggravating factor by the court.

Salim was ordered to complete 15 rehabilitation activity requirement days, 140 hours of unpaid work and to pay £120 in compensation to Mr Barbu.

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