A local pub in a popular Wigan town has been dividing opinion after putting out a job advert for a new chef to join its team.
With the hospitality industry currently experiencing high levels of staff shortages post-pandemic and amid the rising cost of living crisis, seeing job advertisements for new recruits in the window or on chalkboards outside establishments is a pretty common sight across Greater Manchester at the moment.
But a pub in Golborne has certainly grabbed attentions with calls to fill its latest vacancy.
The Queen Anne – which is a small family-run pub in the heart of the town on the border of Wigan and Warrington – took to Facebook last month to share that it was looking for a new chef to join its dedicated and “busy” kitchen team, and asked people to get in touch if they were interested.
The job advert was shared to Facebook alongside a photo of a chalkboard outside the venue.
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The pub says on its website that it “prides ourselves on serving good beer and great homemade food” and even claims to serve up “the best homemade food that Golborne has to offer”, so understandably, a chef is an important hire for the business, but one requirement the pub has for any potential applicants has got people talking – “no snowflakes”.
The advert reads: “Chef wanted. Please ask inside for details. No snowflakes please!!!”
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The pub elaborated in its call for the new staff member: “We are still looking for chefs to join our busy kitchen team, so if you want to be involved with serving and making the best homemade food that Golborne has to offer, are hardworking and not a snowflake, pop in and have a chat with us or drop us a message.”
The derogatory slang term ‘snowflake’ is generally defined as being an “overly sensitive or easily offended person”, or someone who believes they are “entitled to special treatment on account of their supposedly unique characteristics”.
Given the choice to include the term in the vacancy, The Queen Anne’s job advert seems to have split opinion online – with one person commenting on Facebook: “Snowflakes are taking over the world”, while another didn’t seem too keen on the recruitment tactics, and added: “I genuinely hope you find no one.”
Wigan pub divides opinion by asking for ‘no snowflakes’ in job advert for new chef / Credit: The Queen Anne
“Please define your snowflake,” another person questioned.
Another person also questioned whether or not the pub was “still looking” for applicants to fill the role “because they’re all snowflakes?”.
But offering some clarity on the situation and the decision to use the word snowflake in response to the criticism, Christopher Darnbrough – who is the landlord of The Queen Anne – told the M.E.N that they are simply looking for “a hard-worker”.
“Since the lockdown, we have had a lot of flaky people who don’t want to work and just breeze in and out and are constantly wanting time off,” he explained.
New Hairy Bikers documentary to take viewers on ’emotional journey’ in tribute to Dave Myers
Emily Sergeant
A new documentary paying an emotional tribute to late Hairy Biker Dave Myers is set to air on the BBC in the run up to Christmas.
Dave Myers – who was most well-known for being one half of the famous Hairy Bikers duo that starred in the BBC cookery and travel show of the same name, alongside Si King – died earlier this year (28 February 2024) after revealing back in May 2022 that he had been diagnosed with cancer, and was undergoing chemotherapy treatment.
The final Hairy Bikers episode aired on 19 March following Dave’s passing, and viewers tuned in in their tens of thousands to watch the beloved show that had been entertaining the masses for close to two decades.
🏍️ Si King celebrates the life of fellow Hairy Biker and best friend Dave Myers in a special one-off BBC documentary
Si picks out key moments from the past 25 years of the pair's TV careers in The Hairy Bikers: You’ll Never Ride Alone
But despite that being the final episode with Dave involved, there’s still one last chapter left to tell.
Set to air on BBC Two on Monday 23 December, viewers will be invited on an “emotional journey” through the Hairy Bikers story with Si King, as he celebrates the life of his best mate and former TV partner.
The documentary follows Si as he leads a motorcycle convoy to Dave’s hometown of Barrow-in-Furness, while archive material, new interviews, and previously-unseen footage is shown to help celebrate Dave’s life.
A new Hairy Bikers documentary will take viewers on an ’emotional journey’ in tribute to Dave Myers / Credit: BBC / South Shore Productions
You can relive the journey that took Dave around the world while cooking up a storm as one of television’s greatest-ever double acts.
“I’m incredibly proud of the programme because it’s a tribute to my best mate,” Si King said.
“It was an amazing experience, I didn’t quite know what to expect. That was the whole thing, none of us did. We thought at the most we’d get 10,000 bikes, we didn’t dream it would be 46,000 motorcycles and a 30-mile tail, it was just insane. I just felt enormously privileged.”
Hairy Bikers: You’ll Never Ride Alone will air on BBC Two on Monday 23 December at 9pm, and will also be available to watch on BBC iPlayer.
Featured Image – BBC
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Snoop Dogg says he wants to replace Gregg Wallace on MasterChef – and so do we
Danny Jones
With Gregg Wallace having been axed from MasterChef, one man has put himself forward to replace the long-standing presenter: Snoop Dogg.
Make that Snoop ‘Doggy’ Dogg, esquire and all-round foodie fancy pants, to you.
No, as we often feel we have to clarify sometimes, we’re not joking – the rapper and hip-hop legend apparently is very keen on the idea of becoming the next co-host of UK MasterChef.
It also goes without saying that we will never EVER get bored of writing headlines like these.
Credit: The Martha Stewart Show/BBC
Speaking to The Mirror, the 53-year-old music icon said, “You’ll best believe You better believe Snoop could be the new MasterChef judge.”
According to Snoop, his time working on Martha & Snoop’s Potluck Dinner Party with well-known American cook, food writer and TV personality Martha Stewart means he already has prior experience and he also believes he has the backing of another big culinary name.
“My boy Gordon [Ramsay] judges on the US version of the show, and I know he would back me to be able to judge on the UK version”, he told the outlet, going on to add: “He knows I am not playing when it comes to food. He knows I can cook – I have even given him some tips.
“I hosted a cooking show over here and I have always been vocal about wanting to work on a UK show. I love the place – and for real, this could be the perfect opportunity.”
His bid to join the BBC show might be less likely than many others, but we’ve already seen how well getting familiar entertainment faces on works for the Celebrity version of the show, not to mention juicing up the comedy with less serious analysis as seen on Channel 4’s rebrand of The Great British Bake Off.
You can see a selection of Snoop’s on-screen cooking highlights here.
As for the latest on Wallace, he is still officially denying being involved in any inappropriate behaviour of a sexual nature on the show and various other TV projects, with a total of 13 people filing official historical complaints against the long-standing host over the course of a 17-year period.
The 60-year-old is now accused not only of sexual comments in the workplace but groping and touching multiple former contestants and colleagues.
Despite sticking to his official position he has, however, come out to apologise for a response video he made following the second raft of allegations, in which his comments were deemed offensive and misogynistic by a Downing Street official.
We’re confident we already know the answer, so we’ll ask you this instead: just how much do you want to see Snoop Dogg presenting the next series of MasterChef?
Emily Sergeant -
31st August 2022 
