Kaema Sutra, a high-end restaurant in Colombo owned by Bollywood actress Jacqueline Fernandez is under fire for serving food with a worm.

A customer who was allegedly served a dish with a worm had posted a complaint at the Kaema Sutra facebook page. He had complained about the incident on the Facebook page of the restaurant.

The customer had also posted pictures of the dead worm in his food on the restaurant’s official Facebook page. The restaurant has still not officially issued a statement over the matter. However, the customer had stated that the restaurant offered him the dish with the worm free of charge as a damage control measure.  

"As we were late, we decided to carry on with the meal. That is until a worm was found 2/3 of the way into a prawn. This is when the in-house manager finally surfaced to confirm that (a) this was in fact a worm and (b) that the rest of our worm-infested meal would be ours to consume free of charge," the said customer had said.

The customer has complained about the way the situation was handled by the in-house management. “Instances such as these should be handled with humility and propriety. Not responding appropriately is also a response, and you are equally responsible for what you do not do,” he has said.

The full complaint posted by the customer on the Kaema Sutra Facebook page is as follows:

When I dine at a restaurant named dubiously after a sexual encyclopedia, I at least expect a pleasurable experience. Especially when the said restaurant promotes itself as “best-in-class”, any customer should expect certain minimum criteria to be met.

1. Food should be safe for consumption – this is an obligation, not an option.

2. Guests should be treated to a reasonable level of service and with some modicum of respect - as a paying customer, this should be non-negotiable.

“Unfortunately on this afternoon, courtesy of the Kaema Sutra, I was put in a very difficult position. Pun most certainly not intended.

Our lunch began with a simple mistake. Clearly summoning the key takeaways of what must have been a rigorous onboarding process, the waiter correctly served my wife first. Either distracted by her stunning radiance or struggling to find equilibrium under the weight of the admittedly large prawns, he managed to spill the entire curry all over my wife’s top. Sarcasm aside, this is a mistake that could happen to anyone, and we understood that. While my wife rushed next door to purchase another top, we asked that the food be taken back and warmed up. Upon her return she was greeted not by an apology, as she should have been, but by a plate of soggy, cold hoppers. The absence of a manager to run any sort of damage control throughout this ordeal was sadly telling.

As we were late, we decided to carry on with the meal. That is until a worm was found 2/3 of the way into a prawn. This is when the in-house manager finally surfaced to confirm that (a) this was in fact a worm and (b) that the rest of our worm-infested meal would be ours to consume free of charge! Why thank you kind sir, but we graciously decline your generous offer.

Later that night, perturbed not to have had any follow-up from senior management and taking matters into my own hands, I texted the establishment’s esteemed proprietor. Here are the cliff’s notes, and I paraphrase:

1. We are bamboozled by the presence of a worm in your prawn. Perhaps it fell from the ceiling.

2. I have instructed our waiters not to serve prawn or crab curry in the future in order to prevent spillage.

Thank you sir for your thoughtful and considerate response. I have a few thoughts:

1. I too am bamboozled by the journey of the worm in question, jettisoned like a bullet from the rafters with such force that we had to cut into the prawn to find it.

2. I am equally flummoxed by the fact that the worm seemed long dead. I have three theories here: Either it died during preparation (likely), died from its suicidal leap (perhaps), or died in the curry tsunami of 45 minutes prior (probably not). Either way, if a worm finds its way on to my plate, it is a problem. This does not seem to have been acknowledged with appropriate modesty.

3. I am saddened that I will now have to serve prawn and crab curry for myself. Perhaps even sadder about the fact that your best solution to this spillage problem is to stop serving your guests altogether.

Look, the basic point is this. One day we will all be food for worms but, for the time being, I would rather not have you speed up that process by giving me worms for food. That said, mistakes are made and are easily forgiven. More relevant here is the response to a series of unfortunate events, from the in-house management to the very top of the food chain. Instances such as these should be handled with humility and propriety. Not responding appropriately is also a response, and you are equally responsible for what you do not do. I expected better and certainly expect better in the future.

Till then, I will look on the bright side. Finding a worm when I bite into a prawn is twice as good as finding only half a worm.”