A CHEF has been dismissed for gross misconduct after he slated rival restaurants in fake TripAdvisor reviews.

Chris Gamack was sacked from The Amen Continental Cafe, in Barnard Castle, County Durham, on Wednesday night after he was exposed on Facebook as posting false entries on the popular travel review website.

The Northern Echo:

Valentines Restaurant, pictured above, The Bengal Merchant, the Old Well Inn and Penny’s Tea Shop are among those understood to have received a one-star rating from Mr Gamack, posting under the name Chris G Darlington.

On the website, which allows customers to review and rate accommodation providers and eateries, Mr Gamack, from Staindrop, allegedly described one restaurant as so dirty he wished he had brought a vacuum cleaner and complained of waiting more than 40 minutes for food at another.

The reviews have since been removed by TripAdvisor.

Paul Smith, owner of The Amen Continental Cafe, told The Northern Echo he was shocked and upset by his former employee’s behaviour.

The Northern Echo:

He said: “We knew nothing about it and feel disgusted and upset. It’s not the way we operate. The member of staff has been dismissed for gross misconduct and I’ve apologised in person to the people involved.”

On Wednesday night, Mark Sutherland, the owner of Valentines, named Mr Gamack on Facebook, labelling his actions as disgusting and unprofessional and highlighting how the chef had never eaten in his restaurant.

Mr Gamack also took to Facebook to apologise, prompting Mr Sutherland to post: “This is the proof I needed that this man has written fake reviews and damaged my business and others in the town after years of hard work.

“This doesn’t help all the hundreds of TripAdvisor readers who now think my business is deserving of one star."

Mr Sutherland said he had been overwhelmed by messages of support from the community.

He said: “If he had eaten in my restaurant and posted a genuine review I wouldn't have had a problem with that. He has a right to do so.

"However, he has admitted he never stepped foot in my restaurant.”

Mufti Choudhury, manager of The Bengal Merchant, pictured below, agreed and added: “Businesses support one another in the town which is why we are so shocked.”

The Northern Echo:

Mr Gamack declined to comment.

A TripAdvisor spokesman said: “We can confirm the reviews related to this incident were in breach of our guidelines and were removed from TripAdvisor, following an investigation by our content specialists.

“We fight fraud aggressively and have sophisticated systems and teams in place to detect fraudsters."

The Northern Echo:

APOLOGY: Chris Gamack apologises to Valentines Restaurant via Facebook