Food fight erupts over former MKR 'villains' Kelly and Chloe's food review.

It’s the food fight that has everyone in Perth talking.

A stoush has broken out between two contestants from 2014’s My Kitchen Rules and the owner of a Perth eatery who accuses the pair of an unfair food review and of skipping out without paying the bill.

Kelly Ramsay and Chloe James were pitched as the the 2014 season’s villains from the beginning with producers playing up their comments and withering glances at other contestants.

But their notoriety seems to have only helped them in launching a food career after the season ended. The duo has set up a cooking school and now write reviews for Western Australia’s Sunday Times magazine, STM.

Can’t believe it’s that time of year again #crabfest at the #longtablelunch @chloeandkelly_ @chloejames_official #ladiesthatlunch #stmperth #mkr #crabfest16

A photo posted by Kelly Ramsay (@kelly_ramsay) on Feb 3, 2016 at 8:34pm PST

Watch Chloe James and Kelly Ramsay on MKR. Post continues after video…

The pair left much of the food on their plates, wrote Ramsay. “On the walk back to my place, Chloe sighed: ‘Shall we head to the Leedi for dinner, take two?'” Ramsay wrote.

After the review was published, West End Deli posted a Facebook response refuting everything Ramsay wrote, including that James was even present for the meal.

Read West End Deli’s full response, below…  

But the most damning piece of information they shared was that Ramsay and her fiance, who they say was her actual dining companion that night, racked up a bill for food and wine totalling $260, then left without paying.

Finally the icing on this cake is the exchange that took place as the spotless plates were cleared and the bill was handed over to Kelly. Kelly’s credit card was declined. She was obviously quite embarrassed and promised to come back the next day and settle the $260 bill. That’s the last we heard of Kelly for close to 7 weeks. We rang, left voicemails and text Kelly numerous times but were ignored completely until late December. It was only when Chloe emailed in December that the bill was begrudgingly settled. We can’t help but feel that Kelly was looking for a free meal to enjoy with her fiancé when she dined with us in October.

The Facebook post said the restaurant’s proprietors contacted STM‘s editor with concerns about the fairness of the review, about no payment of the bill, and the fact that the meal took place back in October when the menu was completely different present.

STM has a readership of 321,000 people, meaning that these two ex-reality telly home cooks have the power to damage the reputation of a family business with a few inaccurate, scathing taps on the keyboard. So all we can ask of you Perth, is that you make up your own mind on our offering.

So far, more than 20,000 people have liked the post, and there have been thousands of comments in support of the restaurant from happy customers.

We have eaten many times at WED and have never had anything but amazing food, coffee and service. If you’re ‘in the industry’ a little healthy competition is good but completely destroying someone’s reputation is disgusting. Thanks for sharing your side guys, but honestly – you’ll still have all of your loyal customers come back time and time again!!

A spokesperson for Ramsay and James said the pair were “used to negativity,” reports WA Today.

Deborah Munson, from The Options Group, which manages the pair, said both girls had dined at the restaurant but admitted it had occurred on separate occasions. She said the bull had since been paid in full.

“This has been a personal attack on both ladies due to incorrect factual information and given the majority of their reviews and good standing in their professional life, their business continues to flourish and they show respect and integrity within the industry.”

 

Great lighting @kelly_ramsay. ???????????????? A photo posted by Chloe James (@chloejames_official) on Nov 1, 2015 at 7:15pm PST