Harassment storm hits the celebrity kitchen
Chef Mario Batali accused of sex misconduct
Mario Batali, the acclaimed American chef and restaurateur who also hosts ABC’s The Chew, is the latest to be met with sexual harassment allegations.
Early Monday, Eater reported f our women had come forward who had previously worked with Batali, all with allegations of misconduct, alleging groping, graphic comments and other inappropriate behaviour dating back two decades.
All of the victims said they remained silent because they were afraid of “retribution.” One woman who claims Batali touched her inappropriately in the ’ 90s while working as his employee said, “He has clear intent on being threatening when he is wronged. And the level of vindictiveness is very chilling. So, it never occurred to me to share tales out of school.”
Steve Crane, who coowned restaurant Pó with Batali for a time, is quoted by Eater saying several female staffers had informed him of Batali’s behaviour. When he confronted the chef and asked him to stop, “Batali would become more aggressive” to the point that the staff would ask Crane to stop confronting him because it only made the situation worse.
In a statement, Batali did not deny the allegations: “I apologize to the people I have mistreated and hurt. Although the identities of most of the individuals men- tioned in these stories have not been revealed to me, much of the behaviour described does, in fact, match up with ways I have acted. That behaviour was wrong and there are no excuses. I take full responsibility and am deeply sorry for any pain, humiliation or discomfort I have caused to my peers, employees, customers, friends and family.”
ABC has requested Batali “step away” from the daytime talk show while they investigate the allegations. Meanwhile, the Food Network has put Batali’s cooki ng series Molto Mario, which has been on the air since 2005, on hold.
He is also stepping away from Batali and Bastianich Hospitality Group, the restaurant management group he co- owns with Joe Bastianich.
Rumours of a notable chef meeting assault allegations this week were brewing on Twitter over the weekend, with Anthony Bourdain, a close friend of Batali’s, fuelling the fire more than anyone.
On Sunday, he tweeted, “Trust me. Monday is really gonna suck. ... It’s where you stand when the people you care about and admire do awful things that matters. Keeping head down and hoping it goes away? No.”
Despite saying he only begun to hear the Batali rumours “a few weeks ago,” Bourdain also said, “I’ ve been sitting on stories that were not mine to tell. And feeling sick and guilty as f—k I hadn’t heard them before.”
In ot her words, t hi s might be just the beginning of the restaurant industry facing the same storm brewing in Hollywood in recent months.