The controversial video showing a TikTok duo taking home servings of a Japanese spice blend from a dining establishment did not sit well with a restaurant group.
Chuck Aquino and Joe Abad, also known as “Chuck and Joe” on the video-sharing social networking platform, recently uploaded a clip showing one of them filling an empty jar with togarashi from a restaurant and taking it home.
The 23-second clip, which has also appeared on Twitter and Facebook, included a comment from them that reads: “Act innocent and don’t make eye contact.”
Food writer and columnist Spanky Hizon Enriquez denounced the video and called it a “cheap and disrespectful act” to an industry that has been struggling amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Enriquez is also the director of communications of the group Restaurant Owners of the Philippines or Resto PH, an association that supports Filipino restaurants and their employees.
Radio host DJ Tony Bueno shared the statement of Resto PH and called for influencers to “read” it following the TikTok video.
The group said that it was “deeply concerned and saddened” by the duo’s actions which could “encourage” others, especially the youth, to “emulate the prank.”
“We wish it to be made clear that we consider what they did as a form of theft; and once promoted on social media, theft no longer becomes petty. Restaurant losses are not casual matters to be used for a ‘Social Experiment,'” Resto PH said in a statement on Tuesday.
“The restrictions of the quarantine have already caused many restaurants to close, and many more are struggling to survive. Malicious videos set a negative example and will have an adverse effect on the thousands of people who rely on the F&B (food and beverage) industry for their security,” it added.
Resto PH stressed that influencers’ “quest for ‘views’ and ‘hits’ must be balanced with integrity” and that other social media personalities should “avoid creating content that clearly disrespects an industry and its workers.”
A food-oriented blog agreed with Resto PH’s statement and said that while condiments are “technically free,” consumers should still be considerate of how establishments spend in order to keep their business afloat.
“Condiments may be technically free, but at this stage when every restaurant is scrambling to save every penny just to save jobs and stay afloat, every ingredient and condiment counts,” blog ‘Gutom is Real’ said.
Lifestyle website Spot.ph reported that at least 10 restaurants, hangout spots and bars have closed in Metro Manila as an effect of the COVID-19 pandemic.
These include long-running bars Route 196 in Katipunan and Today x Future in Cubao.