Golders Green Tube station was evacuated after a transport worker burned their dinner, police said.
The Northern line station was shut shortly after 9pm on Friday because of a “fire alert” before it reopened around 40 minutes later.
And police revealed the cause behind the closure was overcooked food, which was later revealed to be an apple pie.
Police in Barnet tweeted: “#GoldersGreen tube station is currently closed and has been evacuated due to staff member burning his dinner. Will re open shortly.”
Officers told the Standard they were not called to the incident but were on patrol when the gates were pulled shut and the alarms sounded.
They said the incident was confirmed by a member of staff at the scene.
Brian Woodhead, TfL’s Operations Director for the Northern line, said: “At 9.05pm this evening Golders Green Tube Station was closed temporarily after a fire alarm was activated. The station re-opened at 9.52pm.
"We apologise to customers for the disruption to their journeys that this would have caused.”
