Jamie's Italian pleads guilty after serving pasta to coeliac
A Jamie Oliver business has pleaded guilty to "selling food not of the nature and quality demanded by the purchaser" after a coeliac customer was not served the gluten-free meal she requested.
Kristy Richardson is understood to have asked staff three times for non-gluten tagliatelle at Jamie's Italian in Portsmouth, when she visited in 2011.
However a "miscommunication" at the restaurant meant she was still served normal pasta, which left her vomiting and ill for a number of months.
Richardson, who is terminally ill and awaiting a heart and lung, had to be temporarily removed from the transplant list until her condition improved.
A spokesperson for Jamie's Italian said: "The restaurant deeply regrets the illness suffered as a consequence and, given all the circumstances, has taken the decision to enter a guilty plea to the offence.
"Jamie's Italian serves thousands of meals every day, many of them to people who have clearly explained their allergies and food intolerances but on this occasion it seems a miscommunication has occurred and we have apologised to the customer."
Portsmouth City Council confirmed that sentencing is expected to take place on 15 May.
Richardson has already been awarded £2,500 in a civil case.