Foot on the menu? As the title might suggest, this is not a story for the queasy.

But indeed, there have been unconfirmed reports that a Chinese restaurant in Northern Italy has been accused of serving the feet of a dead human to its customers.

Severed

The shocking revelation came as diners in the Italian town of Padua found foot on the menu when they were allegedly presented with two severed human feet in place of the Chinese delicacy they had ordered.

This horrific incident came to international attention after a truly revolting image of the decomposing feet was posted online by a waiter who works at the restaurant.

The image, alleged to have been taken at the restaurant’s kitchen area, shows two rotting feet that appear to have belonged to the same person, in an advanced state of decay.  

As the video link below shows, rotting flesh and bone is clearly visible, so please click with caution.   

YouTube Video Report (External Link)

Unsavoury

The unnamed waiter has since claimed that the picture he posted online are indeed real human feet, and were presented to a group of Slovenian diners who had requested a traditional dish known as ‘bear paw’.

Not a particularly enticing dish for the Western palate, the ‘Bear Paw’ is a Chinese delicacy that dates back hundreds of years and quite literally consists of the skinned paw of a bear, seasoned in a sweetened chicken broth.

But however unsavoury that dish may sound, what was served up sounds far worse! After seeing the offending image on social media, a regular patron of the restaurant in question quickly reported it to local authorities.

Rotten

Unsurprisingly in light of the allegations, police and government food standards officials conducted a thorough investigation and inspected the restaurant and it’s cooking facilities.

Although the suspect body parts were nowhere to be seen the findings were still pretty grim with officials discovering 55lbs of meat and frozen fish of ‘doubtful origin’.

The report detailed packages of rotten frog legs and crab meat being stored and served in the restaurant despite being significantly past their use by dates. Conditions at the restaurant were also reported to be unacceptable, with dirt and grease found on refrigerators, floors and cooking equipment.

In a statement released by local police is was confirmed that the force had consulted a forensic pathologist about the picture, who had identified them as being human.

As authorities continue to investigate the origin of the image the restaurant has remained closed, with no statement made by the owners.

Let’s hope that’s the last time they have foot on the menu.