Chef slashed by colleague in row over burnt steaks

A chef suffered a kitchen nightmare after another chef slashed him across the wrist with a large knife in a row over burnt steaks.

At Ennis Circuit Court yesterday, Dubliner Neville Fitzpatrick, aged 47, said he was sure he was going to die after being victim to what he called a “vicious assault” by 42-year-old Thai chef Songwut Sanban in the kitchen of the Falls Hotel in Ennistymon, Co Clare.

A chef with 30 years’ experience, Mr Fitzpatrick has not worked as a chef since the knife attack in which he sustained a broken left wrist, had one tendon severed, and another severely damaged.

Garda Mary Fahy of Ennistymon Garda Station told the court that it was Mr Fitzpatrick’s belief that Mr Sanban “had sabotaged his steaks” that were ordered by a group of golfers on the night of September 11, 2014.

Mr Sanban pleaded guilty to assault causing harm to Mr Fitzpatrick. He could be jailed for up to five years.

In his victim impact statement, Mr Fitzpatrick said: “I remember the feeling of panic and grasping my wrist trying to stop the flow of blood... I was pacing the kitchen saying ‘he cut me, he cut me’.”

Mr Fitzpatrick said that he was covered in blood after the attack as he tried to stem the flow from his wrist with tea-towels.

The Howth native said he had never seen a chef attack another with a knife.

The court heard the declining relationship between the two “had explosive consequences”, with one witness, hotel waiter Killian O’Grady, saying that on starting work at 6pm on the night, he could see tension was high in the kitchen and that the two chefs were not talking.

In his statement read out in court, Mr O’Grady said that the two started to trade insults with Mr Fitzpatrick telling his Thai colleague “that his mother was a lap dancer”.

Mr O’Grady said that Mr Sanban — now living in Co Kildare — muttered things back at Mr Fitzpatrick in Thai and when asked by Mr Fitzpatrick to say in English what he was saying, Mr Sanban said that he “would rip his throat out”.

Mr Fitzpatrick asked for Mr Sanban’s help with a couple of late orders.

However, when Mr Fitzpatrick saw that four steaks ordered by golfers were burnt, he picked up the docket for the steaks and shoved it into Mr Sanban’s face. Mr O’Grady said that Mr Fitzpatrick shouted at him “you had only one order to do and why didn’t you look after the steaks?” Mr O’Grady went out to tell the golfers that their steaks would be late and when he returned he saw Mr Fitzpatrick with his fist raised and Mr Sanban had a large knife in his right hand “and slashed down on Neville’s raised arm”.

Mr Sanban offered €2,000 to Mr Fitzpatrick in court, which was refused. Judge Gerald Keys remanded Mr Sanban on continuing bail for sentencing on July 25.