Panned! City banker loses court battle with caterers after saying his wedding paella was ‘only good enough for the Cornish locals’

•  Alexander Pyemont, 32, from London, had his  case thrown out by the courts
•  The banker put down a £500 deposit for the dish with caterers Big Pan Parties 
• Feared it may be good enough for Cornish locals but it might not meet his taste

When a City banker and his fiancee decided on a sea-top fort in Cornwall for their dream wedding, they chose paella as their special dish for the reception.

Former Deutsche Bank vice-president Alexander Pyemont, 32, and Kemi booked Polhawn Fort above Whitsand Bay as a venue and ordered local caterers to provide the food.

But what should have been a happy occasion turned into a legal fight after Mr Pyemont became concerned about the food quality ahead of the wedding, fearing that although the paella might be good enough for ‘locals in Cornwall’, it might not meet his taste test.

Alexander Pyemont (left with wife Kemi) , 32, from London’s Docklands, has had his case thrown out by the courts after he claimed he had been ‘extorted’ and ‘held to ransom’ for a paella dish he cancelled

A £500 deposit with local caterer Big Pan Parties – which specialises in paellas cooked in Britain’s biggest paella dishes – was cancelled after the couple travelled to Cornwall five months after making the booking and ‘expressed dismay’ at the fare.

Tempers frayed when Big Pan boss Sue Tarry emailed Mr Pyemont – who formerly ran a boutique food business – with news of his change of mind.

When she refused to return the deposit, Mr Pyemont, who lives in London’s Docklands, sued for the return of his money.

He told a judge in London that he and his wife thought that the local company’s paella was ‘not up to quality,’ adding: ‘How I feel about it might not be the way the locals in Cornwall feel about it.’

Mrs Tarry, a mother-of-five, told a hearing at the Mayor’s and City County Court that the company served ‘thousands and thousands’ of people with paella each year without a single complaint.

Mrs Tarry said Mr Pyemont’s then-fiancee Kemi, 31, had first made contact via email to enquire about food, prices and a possible tasting in July 2018.

The city banker put down a £500 deposit for the dish with caterers Big Pan Parties for his wedding in Polhawn Fort above Whitsand Bay. Pictured: Owner of the food company Sue Tarry (left) of Big Pan Parties with a colleague

The couple had made their booking for May 2019 in Polhawn Fort, a 150-year-old castle with a drawbridge, cannon and eight-foot walls.

Mrs Tarry told the judge: ‘It wasn’t a hard sell. We don’t offer tastings per se because everything we cook is in giant pans.’

She said the couple were invited to any one of a number of food festivals in the South-West to sample the paella. But, before tasting any food, they decided to book two giant paella dishes, plus Eton mess and G&Ts for between 60 and 120 guests at an estimated cost of around £2,500.

Five months later, on December 8, 2018, the couple drove to Padstow Christmas Market to try the food. But, the court heard, they didn’t like what they tried and cancelled the booking in January 2019.

Mr Pyemont argued their £500 deposit should have been returned as the booking was dependent on a satisfactory taste-test. Big Pan brought a £2,505 counterclaim to cover the full cost of booking.

But the court threw out the banker’s bid despite his claims that he had been ‘extorted’ and ‘held to ransom’.

Giving her ruling, Judge Windsor said: ‘What the parties agreed was a reservation fee that reflected Big Pan’s losses if the booking was cancelled and which would only be refundable at the discretion of the caterers. I reject the suggestion that the payment was conditional upon a satisfactory tasting.’

She also dismissed the counterclaim, saying five-months notice was sufficient for the company to mitigate its losses.

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