A chef who quit her restaurant job after clashing with her boss in a row involving mushy peas has been awarded £34,000 for unfair dismissal.

Elma Booth said the row was the final straw after a series of disputes with Haydar Baran at La Mirage in Helmsdale, Sutherland.

She told an employment tribunal Baran interrupted service to tell her to give priority to regular customers at the restaurant, which is on the North Coast 500 tourist route. That included concentrating on a dish which featured mushy peas.

Booth said she felt her authority had been undermined because the incident took place in front of other staff.

She subsequently quit in May 2025.

As first reported in the P&J, the tribunal in Aberdeen heard there had been a number of clashes between the chef and the owner in the lead-up to the mushy peas incident - including frozen flies being discovered in a box of scampi.

The product was returned to the supplier but Booth said she was not kept informed and believed her professional reputation could have been affected.

Booth said there had also been a failure to properly record that incident, which left her open to possible questions on food safety from environmental health experts.

Another clash involved Booth's name being removed from the restaurant's alcohol licence.

In his ruling on 24 September, employment judge Robert Phillips said: "The tribunal found that the cumulative effect of those matters was to cause the claimant reasonably to conclude that her experience, judgment and responsibilities were no longer being afforded proper weight."

He continued: "The mushy peas incident had significance not because of the subject matter itself, but because it represented a further example of intervention in an area of the claimant's responsibility without any clear explanation being provided at the time."

He ordered the restaurant should pay Booth just over £34,000, based on gross weekly pay and a compensation payment of £14,900.