Bloggers' Bid For Free Meal At Irish Michelin-Starred Restaurant Comically Backfires

There was no such thing as a free lunch for these cheeky food bloggers.

Instead, they faced the wrath of a top Irish restaurant’s head chef after they brazenly asked for a meal on the house in exchange for “significant online exposure.”

Garrett Byrne, who runs the Michelin-starred Campagne in Kilkenny, shared this screen shot of their brash request to Twitter on Tuesday:

The bloggers, whose identity Byrne didn’t reveal , promised to post live updates on social media during their meal. They said they’d also include the business in a future vegan food guide and may even write a review.

But as Byrne’s tweet which he sarcastically captioned “another day in paradise,” showed — he wasn’t willing to play ball.

“I generally don’t even react but there was something about this one that got a reaction out of me,” he told HuffPost. “Don’t ask me what it was, but it was something about the way it was written.”

Byrne said it’s not the first time that the restaurant, where starters on its a la carte menu cost around $16 and main courses average around $38, had received such a bold request.

On average his establishment gets around eight to ten per year, he said.

“I don’t see why any business should put up with this rubbish,” Byrne told the Irish Independent. “They’re just blagging a free meal. I can’t see any restaurant accepting it. Maybe there is one or two out there who possibly think it’s a good idea, but not us.”

Byrne’s tweet appeared to be well received on Twitter: