PHOTO: ESPIRITOSANTO.COM.SG

Three ovens at Espirito Santo Gourmet and Butchery broke down that day, and 36 patrons either did not get what they ordered, or got them very late.

Some orders had been placed two weeks before.

Two upset customers whose roasts never turned up - and who never got a phone call informing them - said the no-show ruined their Christmas Eve dinner parties with family and friends.

Ms Pauline Khew, 57, ordered a pork roulade - a slice of meat rolled around a minced meat filling - on Dec 14 for a family dinner but did not receive it on Christmas Eve as promised.

'By 8pm when the roast did not arrive, we had to start the dinner and we ate whatever we had,' she said.

They had a simple Christmas meal of potato salad, ham and soup as the pork roulade was meant to be the main course.

Together with two sauces, it would have cost $102.95.

Ms Khew had wanted to pick up the item herself from the outlet at Great World City but received a call at about 5.30pm to say it would be delivered to her home instead.

But neither the roast nor an explanation arrived.

'How can a professional butchery do something like this on Christmas Eve? They didn't even call to apologise that night,' the upset housewife said.

When contacted yesterday, Espirito owner Fabiane Mendes Braga said that three ovens in the company's kitchen in Joo Chiat overheated and broke down at about noon on Monday.

'As it was Christmas Eve, it was hard to find a technician and when we did, it took three hours to fix them,' she said.

As the kitchens were coping with more than 3,000 orders that day, they could not catch up on the delays, she said.

The gourmet butchery, which imports meat from Australia, New Zealand, the United States and Brazil, has 20 ovens in two kitchens located in Joo Chiat Road and River Valley Road.

One oven can cook about 20 turkeys, 55 beef roasts and about 70 to 80 pork roasts at any one time.

Ms Braga said: 'I feel really bad. I am very sorry and I will try to do everything in my power to solve this as customers are very important to me.

'The worst thing is seeing your customers depressed.'

She said that Espirito managers called as many customers as possible to tell them about the situation but could not reach all of them during the chaotic evening.

To compensate affected customers, the company will refund the purchases and pay for extra costs incurred, such as eating out at the last minute.

It will also offer these customers roasts for the New Year free of charge.

But redress after the fact may be too little too late for some.

Another dissatisfied patron, who wanted to be known only as Mr Ng, 54, went to pick up his order, costing $140, personally. However, he was told that the turkey would be delivered to his home by 6pm.

When it did not arrive, he tried in vain to call the store.

Mr Ng said it should have alerted him earlier so he could make alternative arrangements for his party.

'We just wanted better service. It is not about the money but the distress they caused and their not responding to us,' he said.

diothman@sph.com

CUSTOMER'S DISAPPOINTMENT

'How can a professional butchery do something like this on Christmas Eve? They didn't even call to apologise that night.'

MS PAULINE KHEW, 57, who ordered a pork roulade from the shop

SHOP OWNER'S EXPLANATION

'As it was Christmas Eve, it was hard to find a technician and when we did, it took three hours to fix them.'

ESPIRITO OWNER FABIANE MENDES BRAGA, on the three ovens in the company's Joo Chiat kitchen which overheated and broke down