One of east London’s most exclusive members’ clubs is under investigation by Hackney Council after a former chef alleged he saw rats at the venue and was pressured to put fresh labels on out-of-date food.
The council confirmed it has opened a food safety and hygiene investigation into Shoreditch House, the Shoreditch branch of the Soho House group and one of ten Soho House locations across London.
“We have received a report about food safety and hygiene at Shoreditch House and have opened an investigation,” a council spokesperson said.
What the whistleblower claims
Kamran Khan, 30, who has worked several jobs across the catering and hospitality industry, told the BBC he was told to replace labels on prepared food if it had not sold by the end of the day.
He said he regularly saw rats at the venue, and that they had been there “for a long time”, with cleaners instructed to check daily for rat droppings.
Khan said he first raised his concerns informally, then filed a formal complaint with the company. He was still on probation when he spoke up in July. In a probation meeting, he was told he had to continue the relabelling practice, and that refusing would be treated as a performance issue.
“If I don’t change labels on my own initiative, [they] would take that as a performance concern,” he said.
He said he felt compelled to speak out partly because he saw so many children and pregnant women eating at the restaurant. “I told them that I don’t want to be held personally liable for anyone that gets injured.”
According to Khan, the company investigated his complaint and wrote to him on 24 August saying there was evidence to support it and that steps were being taken. But he says the practice carried on, so he took his complaint to Hackney Council instead. His contract was terminated earlier this month, two months after he first raised concerns.
The labelling rules
Food served in a restaurant must legally carry a best-before or use-by date, and the distinction matters. A use-by date is about safety: eating food past it can make you ill, even if it looks and smells fine. A best-before date is about quality: the food may still be safe afterwards, though its taste or texture may have changed.
Swapping in fresh labels on prepared dishes that have not sold is a red flag for inspectors, because it wipes out the traceability that lets a kitchen prove its food is safe. It is one of the issues environmental health officers look for during routine checks, alongside pest control and temperature records.
The council’s investigation will now determine what was happening in Shoreditch House’s kitchens. Hackney has shown it is willing to use its enforcement powers against venues that fall short — the borough’s officers regularly inspect food businesses across Shoreditch, which has one of the densest concentrations of restaurants and bars in London.
Poor hygiene has consequences beyond bad headlines. Food hygiene ratings are public, and a low score can empty a dining room faster than any review. Councils can also prosecute, with courts handing down fines that run into the tens of thousands of pounds for serious breaches.
Soho House responds
Soho House said it was “really sorry that this isolated food labelling incident took place at one of our kitchens”, adding: “This is not how we expect our houses to operate and it is not company policy.”
A spokesperson said an external, independent investigation and audit had been carried out. “Delivering the highest level of food safety for our members and guests is incredibly important to us.”
The company also pushed back on the suggestion that Khan was sacked for speaking out. “For clarity, the former employee’s contract was terminated for reasons entirely unrelated to food labelling,” the spokesperson said.
A brand under the spotlight
Shoreditch House is part of a global hospitality empire. The first Soho House opened in London in 1995; there are now 46 houses across Europe, North America and Asia, and the company listed on the New York Stock Exchange in 2021. Membership starts at £291.67 a month, or £204.17 for under-27s.
Last year the business was bought by a consortium of investors, with actor Ashton Kutcher joining the board — a deal meant to steady the company after a bruising period on the stock market.
An investigation by one of London’s most active council enforcement teams is not the kind of attention the group will have wanted. The council has not said how long its investigation will take.
