Aroma Restaurant moves to curb slur campaign

‘Dog Meat’ allegations at Braintree restaurant refuted - Police called in to investigate malicious rumours. £5,000 reward offered.

Aroma Restaurant in Braintree’s Freeport Designer Village has reacted to a vicious whispering campaign making false claims that the restaurant serves dog meat and is about to be closed by the health authorities.

The allegations are almost identical to those made about other Aroma restaurants in Basildon two years ago and Stevenage four years ago.

Originally the restaurant’s director, Colin Wong, thought there a crank that was behind the original slander campaign. Those allegations only stopped when Aroma called in the police, went public about the allegations and offered a substantial reward for information leading to the successful conviction of the perpetrator. The culprit was never identified however.

At the time David Britt, Environmental Health Manager of Basildon District Council issued an official statement confirming Aroma’s exemplary hygiene standards, declaring, “I can assure the general public that there is no substance to the rumours.”

In a similar move, Braintree District Council, whose Environmental Health Department whose regular inspection visits give the restaurant a clean bill of health, issued a statement saying, "The public can rest assured that we would respond swiftly if there was an official complaint but we do not give credence to rumours, adding, “We have received a handful of calls over the last few months which we have explained are untrue.”

Given the almost identical nature of the allegations, despite the fact that the three restaurants are over 50 miles apart, it is clear that it must be the same person behind these unfounded accusations,” said Wong.

Wong is convinced that it must be a jealous business rival behind the smears,” he said.

Aroma has called in the police to investigate the actions and has put up a reward of £5,000 for information leading to the arrest and successful prosecution of the person or persons behind the hate campaign.

Anyone with any information should call Adrian Chan at Aroma on 01376 569200.

Editors’ Notes: Photos available

Aroma Restaurants are designed along clean, modern lines where diners can enjoy oriental cuisine in a stylish atmosphere at an affordable price. Diners can choose from as many as 30 lunchtime or 60 dinner dishes offering culinary delights from the Far East
The first Aroma restaurant opened in Stevenage Leisure Park in 1997. There are now eight Aroma restaurant located in: Basildon, Stevenage, Basildon, Northampton Hemel Hempstead, Luton, Wood Green and Shepherd’s Bush in London.

Contacts:
George Shaw, Avocado Media
T: 01892 750851 M: 07860 695555 E: This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it

Adrian Chan, Aroma General Manager T: 01376 569200, M: 07927 800 464.

Anna Wright, Senior Environmental Health Officer, Braintree District Council
T: 01376 551414

Aroma Restaurant,Freeport Designer Village, Charter Way, Braintree,
Essex CM7 8YH

W: www.thearoma.co.uk T: 01376 569200

George Shaw
AVOCADO MEDIA
10 Knowle Cottages
Wadhurst Road
Frant
East Sussex TN3 9EJ

T: 01892 750851
M: 07860 695555