Normally when people dip a spoon into a bowl of soup, they don't expect to pick up large chunks of burned flesh with a tail attached to an animal skeleton.

But that's what happened in a Downtown Eastside restaurant on Thursday (December 27), much to the chagrin of the owner.

Crab Park Chowdery is being allowed to remain open after the incident.

But it's no longer being permitted to use Mamie Taylor's commercial commissary kitchen to produce any of its food.

That's because Vancouver Coastal Health inspectors issued an order against Mamie Taylor's at 251 East Georgia Street because of what happened in the commissary.

https://twitter.com/VCHhealthcare/status/1078816384979738624

The owner of Crab Park Chowdery, Ashton Phillips, told the Vancouver Sun that the soup was cooked in a huge steam kettle with a sealed lid.

He doesn't understand how an animal could have gotten into the 50-gallon vat.

Meanwhile, Mamie Taylor's owner, Ron Oliver, has issued a statement emphasizing that Crab Park Chowdery is "a tenant of the commercial commissary kitchen located in the basement of our building".

Oliver noted that this area is separate from his restaurant and it not used by Mamie Taylor's.

"In the six years since we opened in this location, we’ve never had a situation such as this occur at Mamie Taylor’s, nor with any other tenant of the commissary kitchen," Oliver stated.

He emphasized that the space leased by Crab Park Chowdery didn't pass the Vancouver Coastal Health inspection.

"Over the course of the past two years of its tenancy, we have been very supportive of Crab Park Chowdery," Oliver added. "However, we have also been forced to raise serious concerns with both staff and ownership of Crab Park Chowdery on matters of organization, food safety, and general cleanliness." 

A video of the rodent carcass was posted on Instagram on Thursday (December 27).