A Cheshire solicitor has provoked widespread outrage after posting on LinkedIn about a themed dinner party dubbed a “council estate dinner,” featuring a spread of processed frozen foods including turkey dinosaurs, Fray Bentos pies, and spam fritters. Sophie Murgatroyd, 35, who runs the equine law firm Law by Sophie and lives near affluent Knutsford, shared photos of the meal which included chicken dippers, potato waffles, crispy pancakes, smiley faces, baked beans, and oven chips.
While Ms Murgatroyd prepared the main course, her guests provided the refreshments and dessert, which featured Viennetta, spotted dick with custard, ginger cake, and drinks of Sunny Delight and Buck’s Fizz. In the now-deleted post, first highlighted by legal gossip site RollOnFriday, she wrote: “I love cooking for my friends… the theme of tonight’s meal was ‘council estate dinner’.” She invited engagement by asking: “Do you think we missed anything? A classic?” and added the hashtag #ineedarennie. »
The post swiftly drew fierce criticism on LinkedIn, with followers branding it “tone deaf,” “insensitive,” and “derogatory.”
Beverley Borkowski, chief people officer at a care homes group, commented: “This is tone deaf. It’s 80s tea-time classic at best, no need for the label.”
Mental health assessor Rose-Marie Macintyre noted that the label was “demeaning,” adding: “Some people who have mortgages can’t even afford those foods.”
Meanwhile, actuary Richard Shaw argued the food described is not unique to one demographic and found the post “insulting to those families who provide healthy meals for their children.”
On RollOnFriday, anonymous legal professionals were even more scathing. One called the post an “embarrassment to the profession,” while another remarked: “Poshos mocking working-class people who actually have to work for a living and not just being given a load of horses as a kid ».
Ms Murgatroyd, who grew up on a farm near Harrogate and reportedly had her first pony as a young child, qualified as a solicitor around 2016/17. Her background—which includes past interviews where she prioritised finding the right stables when house-hunting—was cited by critics as evidence of a significant class disconnect.
When approached by the Daily Mail, Murgatroyd defended the evening, saying: “I very much dispute that it is insensitive. The people that I was with, having grown up on a council estate, also didn’t find it insensitive at all. It’s not about where you come from, it’s about spending time with quality people.”
She compared the choice of theme to a Mexican night or shopping at a farm shop, arguing: “If people want to shop at a farm shop, I don’t take offence because they didn’t grow up on a farm.” She maintained that she only deleted the post because she lacked the time to respond to the volume of comments, rather than out of regret.
The row underscores the lingering class sensitivities in Britain, with many critics suggesting the « nostalgic » meal would have been celebrated had it simply been labeled a « 90s retro tea ».
Source link
