A Michelin-starred Welsh chef has been the victim of cruel blackmail via Google Reviews. Matt Powell, head chef at Annwn in Narberth, who runs the top restaurant with his partner Naomi, said he wanted to share how he was threatened with a series of fake Google reviews and reviews unless he paid money to show how things didn’t work. could. . Whatever it seems when you search the ratings and verdicts given to restaurants online.

After Powell blocked the blackmailer last week, Annwn’s Google reviews page began showing fake images of horrible dishes, including a fried rat and stuffed hamsters, accompanying the one-star rating. Powell then received another text message on Whatsapp from a Pakistani blackmailer called Masoom, saying: “Hello brother, I need a job from you for just £50. I posted negative reviews and disgusting photos about your company because you blocked me.

“If you block me again, we will post negative reviews and add 40+ bad photos every day. Adding negative reviews is not difficult for us because we have our own team.” For the latest Wales news straight to your inbox, sign up to our newsletter.

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Powell said she immediately tried to contact Google to remove the image and restore the average Google Reviews rating to five stars, which she said took several days. “Most people know it’s completely ridiculous and that these reviews come from people who have never been to the restaurant, but it’s still annoying because it affects the overall image online,” Powell told WalesOnline. “Having to deal with this was a shock and quite stressful.

“We are adapting and financially it is difficult. People think they make a lot of money, but we’re a family business that makes eight or ten covers. We don’t make much money and we don’t go to sleep until three in the morning after work. It’s difficult and then we get this rubbish.

“Often we receive something on WhatsApp and you block or delete it because we don’t want anything to do with it. People offer money to give you five stars, but we are an honest family and would never do that. We are good at what we do and that is personal. We only have four tables and for us it is very important that people here have fun.”

Powell criticizes how Google Reviews can affect a restaurant’s reputation and how people can use it dishonestly and maliciously. “In the past I received a one-star review that we knew I had never been to the restaurant, that’s bad,” she added.

“The problem is that Google cannot be contacted easily, even though it is one of the richest companies on the planet. It took years to fix this. Fortunately, some of the food photographs were strange and implausible.

“We would love to see Google implement a system where restaurants could provide real customers with a code that allows them to leave reviews on Google. In the meantime, we have changed our contact number to a landline so that people cannot send us WhatsApp messages.”

Annwn, which serves locally sourced ingredients in a welcoming atmosphere, was listed in the Michelin Guide in September, four months after opening its new Pembrokeshire headquarters. It was already ranked #14 on Good Food Guide’s list of the 20 Most Interesting Restaurants at its original location in Laurenny.

Google has reached out for comment.