A new pizza joint backed by disgraced former MasterChef host Gregg Wallace will only hire men, its owner has announced.
Austin’s Dad Pizza is prepping to open one of its first branches in Stamford, with owner Will Mcllory saying he plans to invest £500,000 in the property.
The restaurant will seat 80 people and serve pizza, fried chicken, and burgers.
Mr Wallace, who was sacked by the BBC in 2025 after 45 allegations of inappropriate language and behaviour were upheld, has been made an ambassador for the brand.
In a post on Facebook, the former TV host wrote that Mr Mcllory will employ “young men” and “help people from disadvantage backgrounds” [sic].
“Whether you agree or not, I told you he was on his way,” Mr Wallace wrote.
Mr McIllory said that no women will be hired in any of his branches, as he intends all employees to be men between the ages of 18 and 25.
“There are a lot of disadvantaged young men who feel lost – they’re looking for direction, belonging and someone to look up to, and increasingly they’re finding those answers online in the manosphere,” Mr Mcllory said on his social media pages.
“Sometimes the people giving them those answers aren’t the role models we want influencing the next generation.”
He said he wanted to give his workers a chance to learn discipline and responsibility.
“If we genuinely believe that young men need better role models, more purpose and somewhere positive to belong, then somebody has to create those places — that’s what we’re trying to do,” he added.
Sex and age are protected characteristics under the Equality Act, and the law’s provisions do not generally allow an employer to implement blanket exclusions because of those characteristics.
However, the Act allows businesses to take proportionate positive action to help under-represented or disadvantaged groups.
That provision allows an employer to choose a candidate with a protected characteristic over a candidate without it – but only if the two candidates are equally qualified.
However, employers cannot fulfill arbitrary quotas, or automatically select candidates from one group over another, as each case must be decided on its own merits.
Mr McIlory also said that his menu will not accommodate “the blue-haired, septum-piercing vegan brigade”.
It will also not have options to suit other dietary requirements such as gluten-free, halal or kosher.
“We don’t do boring,” he said.
An opening date for the Stamford restaurant has not yet been announced.
