It began as a movement on social media meant to demonstrate the widespread prevalence of sexual assault and harassment in the workplace. The movement became more than just a means for the victims of these types of assault to unburden themselves by Tweeting about their experiences, it became a jumping off point for their abusers to ultimately be held accountable.
The past few years have seen many high-profile celebrities, including the likes of Hollywood powerhouse Harvey Weinstein, to face their victims and then, once charged, face the music as well. Recently, even charismatic chef Mario Batali has been swept up in the tide of alleged abusers and the evidence against him isn’t great…
Less-than Humble Beginnings
A native of Seattle, Washington, Batali learned to cook from a rather young age and even worked as a cook while attending college at Rutgers University. From there, he attended the Cordon Bleu in London and learned the culinary arts. After a few months, he withdrew from a prominent apprenticeship to move to Italy and learn to cook the way he truly wanted.
Rising Star
Chef Batali has often said that good Italian cooking stood out from other types of ethnic foods because of its simplicity. Simple ingredients, simple flavors, used in concert with one another to create complex, delicious dishes. This attitude eventually garnered him not only successful work as a chef, it was enough to catch the attention of the Food Network…
Molto Mario
Batali’s cooking show, Molto Mario, ran on Food Network from 1996 to 2004. The chef was a household name by the end of it and had already opened up his own hospitality group with partners Joe Bastianich and Lidia Bastianich. They opened their flagship restaurant in New York City. Babbo Ristorante e Enoteca became an instant go-to locale for Italian food lovers everywhere.
Chew on This
From there, the restaurateur became an Iron Chef on the show Iron Chef America and in 2011, became co-host of the ABC daytime talk show The Chew. Things were looking up for Batali, until 2012, when 117 members of his restaurant staff alleged that his organization had skimmed a percentage of tip pools for several years. They settled out of court, but it left a bad taste in everyone’s mouth…
Allegations
On December 11, 2017, Batali became swept up in the Metoo movement when the restaurant magazine Eater released an article about his unacceptable behavior concerning some of his staff. Four women were now accusing the chef of sexual harassment and sexual misconduct. The day after the article went public, four more came forward.
Keeping Ahead
Batali, trying to get ahead of the story, took a leave of absence from his position at the B&B Hospitality Group he and the Bastianichs had created. His partner, Joe Bastianich, also tried to get ahead of the ensuing scandal and told the press that he had no idea that Batali was sexually abusing their employees. The employees, however, told another story…
Three Employees
Three more former employees of the restaurant group, spoke to the press anonymously soon afterward. They expressed their doubts that Mr. Bastianich was ignorant of his business partner’s serious misbehavior. Indeed, many people in the industry have said that both men were known for fostering a sexist, raucous culture in their restaurants.
Sexist Culture
These employees allege that both Batali and Bastianich ignored misconduct by male employees and frequently demeaned female workers. These were hard allegations to simply dismiss, even if one erroneously considers them to be “jumping on the Metoo bandwagon.” At the very least, the allegations forced folks to look a little closer into Batali’s character…
Falling Short
Producers of ABC’s The Chew asked him to step aside temporarily. This was the first of several events that would see Batali’s success and celebrity slowly wane away to nothing. While he was away, his co-hosts publicly addressed the allegations on air and eventually, Batali was fired from the show altogether.
Cutting the Feed
Food Network, who had planned to put episodes of Molto Mario back into circulation, decided to halt those plans. His pasta sauces and cookbooks were taken out of circulation at all Target stores, and his B&B restaurant La Sirena, in Manhattan’s meatpacking district, closed unceremoniously. Unfortunately for Batali, this was only the tip of the iceberg…
Accusations and Apologies
In May 2018, 60 minutes did a special on Batali’s allegations of sexual misconduct. Even more, people came forward and even the New York Police Department confirmed that they had been investigating Batali for his an alleged sexual assault. Batali,of course, denied all allegations of sexual assault, but admitted that his past behavior had been “deeply inappropriate.”
Hard Decisions
Days later after he sincerely apologized for his actions, Batali’s B&B Hospitality Group announced that it would be closing its three Las Vegas Strip restaurants. The Las Vegas Sands Corp., who host the restaurants, had terminated their relationship over the accusations. Batali now had some very difficult decisions to make…
Twenty Years Down
In a matter of months, the 20-year partnership between Mario Batali and the Bastianich family of restaurateurs had finally come to an end. In order to save the business, both parties agreed to formally dissolve the partnership. There had been too much bad press for the corporation to continue.
No More Profit
Tanya Bastianich Manuali is currently heading day-to-day operations at a new, as yet unnamed, company. She has assured the public that “Mr. Batali will no longer profit from the restaurants in any way, shape or form,” hoping that this assurance may placate potential investors and patrons. Unfortunately, the damage is already done; especially for Batali himself…
Selling Off
Chris Giglio, a spokesman for Eataly, the fast-growing global chain of luxury Italian supermarkets, has announced that it is in the process of acquiring all of Batali’s minority interest in the organization. After the separation from B&B, Batali had no other choice. Especially if the board at Eataly wanted to keep the chain going.
Willing Surrender
Batali isn’t alone amongst chefs and restaurateurs who have been accused of sexual harassment in recent years. Though, Batali is the first among them to fully surrender all his restaurants. Nevertheless, it seems like the fast-paced nature of the industry would leave little time for friendly behavior, much less overly friendly…
Declined to Comment
Still, Batali’s indiscretions are only further proof that no one is safe from unwanted sexual misconduct. His fall from grace is also proof that those who do engage in such behavior will be punished in the court of public opinion. If not the actual courts in the coming years. Batali himself declined to comment on the split from Bastianich but wished him the best of luck.
Witnesses
Joe Bastianich has insisted that he was completely unaware of Batali’s sexual aggression towards women from the very start. He admits he never saw or heard of him groping an employee but did hear him say inappropriate things to several female employees. He admitted that he was sorry he didn’t do anything about it. Meanwhile, his company seems to be in good hands…
New Structure
The new unnamed B&B Hospitality Group is currently attempting to operate their remaining 16 restaurants without any effect on day-to-day procedures. They are developing new management and financial structure, and it is assumed they will spend some time going over their new sexual harassment policy very clearly.
New Ventures
Their first venture will be to open The Barish, a steakhouse in the newly restored Hollywood Roosevelt hotel in Los Angeles. If all goes well, the employees at their restaurants will still have jobs and feel a bit safer in those positions than they might have been if Chef Batali was wandering about behind the scenes.
