Egg Fried Lies

A COPYCAT Chinese takeaway has cloned a Cambridge restaurant’s menu.

China Chef in Newmarket Road only discovered it had a double when customers complained that the food did not taste the same as when they had it delivered.

The mix-up came after Maggie Gu, who runs the business, signed up to a takeaway website called www.just-eat.co.uk to boost online sales.

She left the site in November but found out last month her business was still listed and someone else was delivering meals taken from her menu, using a false address in Mill Road.

Mrs Gu turned detective and got a friend to order a takeaway from the site to see where it was delivered from, but was unable to follow the driver back to his address.

She said: “I started wondering what was going on when a customer told me the food didn’t taste the same anymore, and asked if we had a different chef.

"I was completely shocked. I don’t know why anyone would want to do this. What if someone thinks they have ordered food from me and then gets food poisoning? It’s not my responsibility.

"You would never imagine that your food was being stolen. It’s really hard to run a business – and if your business is being stolen, it’s not fair competition."

David Buttress, managing director of Just Eat, said he took action as soon as the issue was reported.

He said: “We regret that this mistake was made and would like to take this opportunity to point out that this is the first time an administration error regarding listings has been made. Appropriate action has been taken to ensure it does not happen again."