A patron of a Winnipeg restaurant says he was surprised to see video of staff vaping in the kitchen posted online.

Tapastry posted footage to the restaurant's Facebook page of someone using an e-cigarette in the kitchen. The video was no longer on the page on Sunday.

Scott Lobban watched the video and said he thinks vaping shouldn't be allowed in commercial kitchens.

"It just feels weird around food preparation to see that kind of activity, to see it so commonplace," said Lobban. "It just doesn't feel appropriate to be doing that in a kitchen."

Lobban said he doesn't have a stake in the current e-cigarette public policy debate, but he still doesn't like the idea of people vaping over his food.

"I'm neither an advocate for it or against it. It's just those activities; I just think you take them somewhere else," he said, adding he worries particles from the vapour could get on cooking surfaces and food.

The province introduced new legislation banning e-cigarettes in most indoor places—including restaurants—last month. While it isn't currently illegal to use e-cigarettes indoors in the workplace, the province said that is going to change soon.

"The‎ legislation isn't in effect yet, but once it is, it will prohibit the use of vaping devices in indoor public places, including workplaces," a spokesperson with the province told CBC News in a statement. "At this time, businesses have the ability to set their own policies in this regard, and many have done so."

Lobban said he has about seven years of experience working as a cook and would never allow e-cigarettes in his kitchen if he were running a restaurant.

"The [e-cigarette] utensil itself; it hasn't been sterilized. It's sitting in a kitchen environment where everything else has been washed down," he said. "So, to have that in the kitchen being used by the chef, it's just not right."

Lobban said he really enjoys the menu and environment at Tapastry and plans to go back for seconds, but he hopes the restaurant takes this opportunity to review its in-house rules on vaping.

"It's exactly the kind of food we really like to eat — small plates, small bites, that kind of thing. Really well prepared.... It's a nice high quality restaurant," said Lobban. "I don't think this impacts my view of the restaurant at all."

The owner of Tapastry declined to comment.