Chef Adam Handling calls out ‘unacceptable’ behaviour at the Tartan Fox

Chef Adam Handling has hit out at the parents of children who “completely smashed” up to 40 of his fertilised eggs at the Tartan Fox pub in Newquay.

The chef owner of the Adam Handling Collection, which is behind the Michelin-starred Frog by Adam Handling in London’s Covent Garden, posted a video on Instagram earlier this week calling out the behaviour of his guests.

According to his post, a family visiting the Tartan Fox pub on Sunday “allowed their dog to attack and seriously injure” several of Handling’s “beloved chickens”.

Several chickens have “sadly passed away” as a result of the incident, despite being “nursed for the last couple of days”.

Handling described the children who smashed between 30 and 40 fertilised eggs against a tree as “selfish little brats” and blamed the parents for allowing them to behave in this way.

He added: “This behaviour is completely unacceptable. Our chickens are part of the Tartan Fox family and are here for everyone to enjoy and care for. The selfish actions of a few people have caused unnecessary suffering and, heartbreakingly, the loss of some of our girls.

“To my team, who did everyone they could to nurse them back to health, thank you. Your care, compassion and hard work mean the world.”

In a previous video, the Great British Menu star had described the chicken coop at the Tartan Fox as his “favourite place” in the entire restaurant.

Handling opened the Tartan Fox in Cornwall in 2024, roughly three years after he launched his first pub, the Loch & the Tyne, in Windsor, which has since received a Michelin Bib Gourmand and was the Cateys 2025 Pub and Bar Award winner.