Cinnamon Lakeside responds to allegations over contaminated white pepper

31 January 2024 09:08 pm Views - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}} 28 Bookmark

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Colombo, Jan 31 (Daily Mirror) - In response to recent concerns surrounding an incident at Cinnamon Lakeside Colombo where a soup unfit for human consumption has reportedly been served to a patron, the establishment has clarified the incident.

In a statement, the management said the incident in question was clarified to be unrelated to a soup served at the restaurant but rather linked to a guest's use of white pepper in their soup, prompting immediate action.

“Cinnamon Lakeside Colombo has actively cooperated with the officials of the Ministry of Health and Public Health Inspectors (PHIs) during their investigations,” the hotel management said.

The establishment said it had conducted its own tests on the same batch of procured white pepper, finding no cause for concern.

“No other incidents of this nature have been reported from the restaurant visited by numerous guests on that day,” the statement stressed.

Despite these findings, Cinnamon Lakeside Colombo awaits the results of tests undertaken by the Ministry of Health.

The establishment remains steadfast in its commitment to stringent health and safety protocols, emphasizing that the safety of their approximately 1,000 daily guests remains a top priority.

Comments - 28

Negambo Wednesday, 31 January 2024 11:46 PM

Cinnamon Lakeside as being part of a John Keels company must not rely on their own strength on matters relating to bad media publicity. They need to engage professional PR companies to deal with such negative publicity. JKH consistently fails in managing their PR well. It comes from a point of arrogance and denial rather than empathy and relevance. They need to seriously get their act together.

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Gt Thursday, 01 February 2024 12:33 AM

Yeah when you can buy the phi's your gonna be cleared, how sure are thru it was pepper? And not something else, these days management are out for max profits and cost cutting, nothing is safe in sl, everything is rotten top especially to bottom

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Rajan V Pillai Thursday, 01 February 2024 01:41 AM

This Hotel belongs to a group which has a chain of Super Markets with food outlets. I have observed they take good care in giving quality food

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Ram Thursday, 01 February 2024 03:54 AM

Sometimes pepper or chillies may not go well with people who have reflux or gastric issues and tend to vomit soon after consumption. This is not in defence of the Hotel but for the benefit of the patron who had difficulty who must give some attention to my suggestion.

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Charith Thursday, 01 February 2024 06:16 AM

This is absurd. Any idiot can video anything and publish in the social media against business establishments, whom they do not like. Need a strict control of these reports.

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Kabir Hashim Thursday, 01 February 2024 07:57 AM

Krishan Balendran is running John Keels as if it is his family company.

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STAND UP FOR COMPANIES THAT RUN WITH INTERGRITY, THEIR STANDING IN THE BUSINESS WORLD SPEAKS FOR ITSELF Thursday, 01 February 2024 03:48 PM

If you are a share holder of the company, take it up at the next Board Meeting. I HAVE ALWAYS HAD THE HIGHEST REGARD AND RESPECT FOR KEN BALENDRAN AND HIS TEAM, SO I HAVE NO DOUBT KRISHAN WILL RUN THE COMPANY IN A PROFESSIONAL MANNER AS KEN DID.

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Kumara Choksanada Thursday, 01 February 2024 07:58 AM

Five stars are big rip offs, crap for exorbitant prices.

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Sangeetha Weeraratne Thursday, 01 February 2024 08:00 AM

Kitchen staff don't even wash hands to take revenge from rich people.

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Oberver Saturday, 10 February 2024 02:11 AM

I heard this kind of statement from insiders in another five star hotel.

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Be Fair Thursday, 01 February 2024 08:04 AM

Vey nicely written statement from the Hotel

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Sokrates Thursday, 01 February 2024 09:36 AM

Apart from this matter, the food there is not good or particularly tasty. Not to be compared with the excellent cuisine of the Cinnamon Grand.

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Thomas Dharmachandra Thursday, 01 February 2024 11:19 AM

Cinnamon Lake and Cinnamon Grand both under same management for your information

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Sokrates Thursday, 01 February 2024 12:03 PM

@ Thomas Dharmachandra. I know that. However, they do not have the same cuisine, have different chefs and Cinnamon Grand has several restaurants with different menus. In any case, Cinnamon Grand is leagues better.

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Karu Thursday, 01 February 2024 11:17 AM

Fully agree with Sokrates on the lack of tastiness in food at Cinnamon Lakeside. No need to go to the Chinese or Thai restaurants there, just even taste a simple Sri Lankan hopper in the dining room or a pastry from the pastry shop and consider the taste for money you pay compared to other 5 star hotels or upper medium class restaurants in Colombo. The quality of food in the Lakeside has been going down yearly and now that seem to have degraded to the level of not even being fit for human consumption. That is indeed a shame and sad state of affairs for this Hotel.

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Jayantha Friday, 02 February 2024 07:19 AM

Yes, true. Quality and the taste of the food at Cinnamon lakeside are not to the standards of a 5 star hotel. We went to the Thai restaurant for lunch with my family and the duck meat served was so hard. When we complained the chef came and apologized and he gave an excuse and said that they used local ducks and offered a free dish. But I declined the offer. It was my last visit to Cinnamon lakeside

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Tak Tik Tuk Thursday, 01 February 2024 12:03 PM

All star resorts store foods in a freezer for months before cooking and serving. Small roadside restaurants only store for few days and purchase fresh produce every few days. So why people pay high prices for older food is a myth.

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Sampath Silva Thursday, 01 February 2024 12:23 PM

They reap from what they did to their staff, John Keells boast about huge profits, but most of the employees live begger's life

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Be Fair Thursday, 01 February 2024 02:22 PM

Sampath did JKH sack you for any reason

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joshua Thursday, 01 February 2024 01:17 PM

Seems like some of the disgruntled former/present employees are having a free hand in this column. Anybody will wait for an opportunity to sling mud at the employer. I can see this as an outsider. The reason for the contamination is well explained.

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Anthony. R Thursday, 01 February 2024 02:48 PM

This is absolutely absurd, knowing John Keells Hotels, its quality standards,and hygienic standards maintained throughout the chain. Slinging mud happens to be a pass time for some,so sad.

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Dinruta Thursday, 01 February 2024 03:03 PM

These MRI test results are not worth the paper it’s written on. Have they drawn the sample properly ? Have they transported it in a sealed container ? Have they audited sample’s traceability ? Cinnamon group should take them to courts for tarnishing the image ? There are so many fly by night places , dosa kades all over without even toilets . Why can’t they draw the samples from them and findout if they are fit for human consumption?

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WORK OF A DISGRUNTLED EMPLOYEE OR A COMPETTITOR Thursday, 01 February 2024 03:36 PM

Correct, it appears to be mudslinging. John Keells is a reputable company, doubt this mudslinging will stick. The customer added white pepper into her soup, which obviously has caused her complaint and would have had a bad reaction after consumption. We still have no idea of how much white pepper she added into her soup, looks like she would have been chatting with the others and had most probably added way too much. I guess the post about the incident should not have been published, she could have taken the matter up directly with the Hotel Management. I have been to many hotels and in the country around the world and on a couple of occasions, reported my disappointments to the restaurant Manager. When one is with others having a meal anywhere, they tend to be chatting and the likes giving a good chance for way more pepper than was required, as NOT everyone can handle the effects of too much pepper as with hot chilies and/or powder. AS FOR JOHN KEELLS GOOD BUSINESS TO YOU.

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Name Thursday, 01 February 2024 05:31 PM

This is where the free and fair institutions are important. We always think free and fair institutions are there too catch wrongdoers. Of course they should, however, having such trusted institutions in place are better for the parties doing the right thing. Because since the trust of the health officials are at a such low level, a negative result will not be able to clear the name of the business.

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Customer Friday, 02 February 2024 07:25 AM

John Keels is a very reputable company and nobody has a right to sling mud at it nor its excellent board of management . Focus on the subject; which is the quality of food at the Cinnamon Lakeside. Just compare the quality of its food with, say, the Hilton Colombo or even the Cinnamon Grand. The Lakeside food is way lower in quality and taste. That has nothing to do with white pepper or any other ingredient on its own. Its something beyond that which the Management has to figure out.

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DD Friday, 02 February 2024 06:56 PM

I'm fully in support of my buddy MUDDA(91) and the management team at Cinnamon Lakeside Colombo. This incident seems blown out of proportion; it's like making a fuss over one fish in the ocean and forgetting about the thousand others swimming peacefully. Let's not dwell on this isolated case and move forward confidently.

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Gobston Fernando Saturday, 03 February 2024 08:56 AM

Intelligent youngsters who aspire to be corporates could learn something out of their response.

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Bala Sunderam Wednesday, 07 February 2024 05:33 PM

Judge and the jury turns out to be social media. Stay calm until the findings are investigated. The executive chef is responsible for this incident. Internally it could be the store keeper who delivered the product to the kitchen. Bad luck , Cinnamon lake. If found guilty , pay the fine , apologise to thr customers and move on. There's a lot to be done by PR department.

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