A chef served up steak he had thrown on the floor, spat in food and was so drunk he could hardly walk, a tribunal heard.

Ahmed Setti was sacked after he was accused of throwing a steak on the kitchen floor of a restaurant before serving it up for a customer.

Yesterday, he lost his claim for unfair dismissal at an employment tribunal in Brighton. Mr Setti wanted compensation for losing his job at La Piazza, a well-known restaurant in Church Road, Hove.

But owner Behrooz Samandi told the hearing he was forced to dismiss his chef for gross misconduct because he repeatedly breached health and hygiene standards.

He said the last straw was when a waitress accused the chef of throwing a steak on the floor after a customer complained it was undercooked or too cold. The tribunal heard he then warmed the meat up again and served it to the customer for Sunday lunch.

After he sacked Mr Setti, other staff told the boss the chef spat in Mr Samandi's mother's food when she visited the restaurant.

There was another complaint when a customer discovered a false tooth in his food, the tribunal heard.

Mr Samandi said Mr Setti was repeatedly warned during the six years he worked at the restaurant about his smoking and drinking while working.

The tribunal was told there were also complaints about his lack of cleanliness in the kitchen.

Mr Samandi accused Mr Setti of attempting to hide his drinking by pouring brandy coffee and he described the chef as hardly being able to walk at the end of a shift.

Mr Samandi said: "I knew he was drinking and smoking and that made me very angry. The reason I sacked him was because he did not care about the customers. He put people's lives at risk."

Mr Setti, who lives in Bampfield Street, Portslade, denied the allegations. He explained he had a long-term problem with his knee which caused him to limp and because of this he may appear drunk.

Mr Setti claimed he was sacked in March after telling his boss he needed time off work for a knee operation.

He said it was unfair to dismiss him without warning because of his health problem and accused Mr Samandi of making up the allegations as an excuse not to give him sick pay. He said: "They were happy when I was working day and night for them but when I became sick they decided to get rid of me."

Mr Samandi told the hearing he was unaware Mr Setti needed an operation.