Eater NY: All Posts by Irene PlagianosThe New York City Restaurant, Bar, and Nightlife Bloghttps://cdn.vox-cdn.com/community_logos/52682/favicon-32x32.png2018-08-29T12:52:09-04:00https://ny.eater.com/authors/irene-plagianos/rss2018-08-29T12:52:09-04:002018-08-29T12:52:09-04:00Longtime Top Batali Staffer Jason Denton Resigns from Italian Empire
<figure>
<img alt="Lupa" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/diaSfTX_SVYLu9r53Vv0J5f5M40=/0x0:886x665/1310x983/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/61067867/lupea1.0.0.jpg" />
<figcaption>Lupa, which Jason Denton helped open</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Denton has been working with Mario Batali since the ‘90s</p> <p id="OYakqJ">One of <strong>Mario Batali</strong>’s earliest restaurant partners has resigned from the <strong>Batali and Bastianich Hospitality Group</strong>, Eater has learned.</p>
<p id="HryGAJ"><strong>Jason Denton</strong> — who helped Batali and <strong>Joe Bastianich</strong> open Lupa in 1999 and Otto in 2003 — has resigned from the company. He most recently was director of East Coast operations for B&B, and though he previously was a partner, he hasn’t been for more than a decade, according to a B&B spokesperson.</p>
<p id="PM2IAc">The restaurateur once helmed a small empire of popular New York Italian restaurants, including ‘Inoteca, and partnered with Batali and Bastianich for both West Village Italian trattoria Lupa and Greenwich Village pizzeria Otto. Denton, 48, says in a statement that he left B&B “to take time with family and focus on the next best step.” A B&B spokesperson says they cannot comment on individual employees.</p>
<p id="OS6ZGD">Denton has had a long history with Batali: In the mid-90s, he was a server at the celebrity chef’s first NYC restaurant Po. He then went on to become a restaurateur in his own right, opening his first restaurant — a small but beloved West Village Italian panini shop called ‘Ino — with his wife Jennifer in 1998. </p>
<p id="NYrwIj">Shortly after, he partnered with Batali on Lupa and proceeded to open several popular Italian restaurants with his family, including ‘Inoteca, Corsino, Betto, and ‘Inoteca Liquori bar. Many of the restaurants were critically-adored and quite influential. Wine buffs in particular favored them for the combination of solid food and interesting, affordable wine; some credit him with creating the modern wine bar.</p>
<p id="znJOFj">But in 2013, Denton <a href="http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/restaurateur-jason-denton-files-bankruptcy-article-1.1439825">filed for bankruptcy</a>, and by 2014, all the restaurants without Batali partnerships were shuttered. That year, he started working full time for B&B.</p>
<p id="EKj0XX">His departure is the latest management change for B&B, a national company that’s in flux after Batali <a href="https://ny.eater.com/2017/12/11/16759540/mario-batali-sexual-misconduct-allegations">stepped away from day-to-day operations</a> following sexual misconduct allegations. The chef, who is under investigation <a href="https://ny.eater.com/2018/5/20/17374614/mario-batali-nypd-investigation">by the NYPD for sexual assault claims</a>, remains a financial partner in B&B, though the company is in the process of cutting ties.</p>
<p id="CQzbmg">“I’ve always loved this group of hard working individuals and have enjoyed working with them through the years,” Denton says in a statement. “While we have seen some great times and more recently tough times, I still believe it’s an incredible company and I wish everybody only the best and many years of future success.”</p>
<aside id="g8hwSy"><div data-anthem-component="newsletter" data-anthem-component-data='{"slug":"ny-eater"}'></div></aside>
https://ny.eater.com/2018/8/29/17796344/jason-denton-batali-bastianich-hospitality-groupIrene Plagianos2018-08-23T12:59:00-04:002018-08-23T12:59:00-04:00Mario Batali Sued By Woman Who He Allegedly Groped
<figure>
<img alt="Mario Batali" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/p7lkVM6c3FFw0cqR2Mp1I1MYSCY=/40x0:961x691/1310x983/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/60996667/batali.0.0.jpg" />
<figcaption>Mario Batali | Photo by <a class="ql-link" href="https://www.instagram.com/danielkrieger/" target="_blank">Daniel Krieger</a></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Natali Tene alleges that the chef touched her in a Boston bar last spring</p> <p id="3RXvcl">A woman who claims Batali groped her in Boston bar when she took selfies with the disgraced chef has filed suit against him in Massachusetts superior court.</p>
<p id="MarOIs">Natali Tene, 28, whose story <a href="https://ny.eater.com/2018/5/30/17407834/mario-batali-misconduct-fans-photos">was featured in an Eater New York investigation</a>, is suing Batali for assault and battery and is seeking damages for emotional distress over the alleged assault, saying the incident was “dehumanizing,” according the suit.</p>
<p id="ZbAMOC">According to her lawyer Eric Baum, Tene filed a report with the Boston police department on June 22 and was told that they are investigating the incident. Boston police did not immediately return multiple requests for comment. <strong>Update</strong>: BPD <a href="https://www.eater.com/2018/8/23/17775238/mario-batali-police-investigation-boston">now confirms that it is investigating the incident</a>. </p>
<p id="hpVqDT">As Eater reported earlier this year, Tene was then a fan of Batali’s and approached him in April 2017 for a photo. She alleges that the chef then rubbed her body and breasts, grabbed her backside, and touched between her legs after she approached him at a bar. After allegations of wider sexual misconduct against Batali <a href="https://ny.eater.com/2017/12/11/16759540/mario-batali-sexual-misconduct-allegations">came out in December 2017</a>, she decided to speak out. </p>
<p id="4ABYaZ">“I was just in total disbelief when he touched me like that; I couldn’t believe it when it was happening,” Tene told Eater in May. “In the moment it was just so crazy, it was humiliating. The more I thought about it later, the angrier I got.”</p>
<p id="ESqUby">Batali, who’s faced allegations of sexual misconduct by numerous women, <a href="https://ny.eater.com/2018/5/20/17374614/mario-batali-nypd-investigation">is currently under investigation by the NYPD</a> for sexual assault claims. The New York state’s attorney has <a href="https://ny.eater.com/2018/8/20/17761748/spotted-pig-attorney-general-sexual-harassment-investigation">also issued a subpoena to the Spotted Pig</a> in an attempt to get video footage of Batali’s alleged assault in the so-called “rape room” on the third floor. A spokesperson for Batali did not immediately return a request for comment. </p>
<p id="lXArR4">In a statement to Eater, Tene’s lawyer said: “What Natali went through was a nightmare. Nobody should ever be subjected to this type of conduct. As a fan of Mario Batali, all she wanted to do was innocently take a picture with him. Without warning, he then sexually assaulted her. Mario Batali’s actions were humiliating and degrading. This lawsuit shines a light on a serious, frequently occurring issue that must be addressed and stopped.”</p>
<aside id="AHPQcz"><div data-anthem-component="newsletter" data-anthem-component-data='{"slug":"ny-eater"}'></div></aside>
https://ny.eater.com/2018/8/23/17773770/mario-batali-lawsuit-boston-misconductIrene Plagianos2018-07-12T22:30:22-04:002018-07-12T22:30:22-04:00Batali’s La Sirena Loses 2 Top Chefs Following Sexual Misconduct Tumult
<figure>
<img alt="La Sirena" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/-aEh0exqEerlRMfAsWCjF6dro7Y=/293x0:5061x3576/1310x983/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/60340099/20160209-La_Sirena-7.0.0.jpg" />
<figcaption>La Sirena’s bar area | Photo by Nick Solares</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>It’s been a chaotic year for the sprawling Chelsea restaurant</p> <p id="kVjPqB">Two executive chefs from Mario Batali restaurant <strong>La Sirena</strong> are set to leave this summer — a move following staff cuts, slowing business, and rumors that it would be first NYC Batali restaurant to close after<a href="https://ny.eater.com/2017/12/11/16759540/mario-batali-sexual-misconduct-allegations"> sexual misconduct allegations against the celebrity chef</a>, sources tell Eater.</p>
<p id="W87f5M">A spokesperson with Batali and Bastianich Hospitality Group — the national restaurant empire that Batali built with partner Joe Bastianich — confirmed that La Sirena’s executive chef <strong>Anthony Sasso</strong> will be leaving the restaurant but said he’ll be staying within the company. The Michelin-starred Chelsea restaurant’s executive pastry chef <strong>Thea Habjanic</strong>, who’s been there since it opened more than two years ago, is also set to leave soon after Sasso, according to a source in B&B management.</p>
<p id="UESRiA">B&B declined to comment on staffing and said the restaurant will not be closing. Habjanic declined to comment, and B&B would not comment on her employment status. Sasso did not return requests for comment. Maritime Hotel, where La Sirena is housed, also declined to comment.</p>
<p id="jFlx1j">Batali stepped away from day-to-day operations in December but remains a partner at La Sirena, and though the company previously planned to <a href="https://ny.eater.com/2018/4/2/17189042/mario-batali-restaurants-nyc-divesting">finalize his divestment</a> by the beginning of July, the final contract to remove him from financial ownership is now instead expected to be completed by the end of the month. </p>
<p id="2TXtGP">Longtime Batali staffer Sasso — who <a href="https://ny.eater.com/2017/1/12/14243040/la-sirena-nyc-changes-tapas">took the helm at La Sirena</a> in January 2017 — will temporarily return to B&B’s Casa Mono, the Michelin-starred Spanish restaurant where he was previously executive chef and spent more than a decade of his career. After that, he will help the company open a new “growth project,” a B&B spokesperson says. A source tells Eater that Sasso will be helping with a new Spanish restaurant in Los Angeles akin to Casa Mono. (LA-based B&B chef Nancy Silverton <a href="https://www.eater.com/2018/6/14/17462282/nancy-silverton-mozza-restaurant-expansion-new-york-city-london">has previously mentioned</a> a new Spanish restaurant in California.) B&B says it will announce Sasso’s replacement in the coming months. </p>
<p id="cklEmB"><a href="https://ny.eater.com/2016/2/9/10950880/la-sirena-nyc-maritime">Opened in 2016</a> and holding more than 400 seats, La Sirena is B&B’s most recent restaurant in NYC — and one of its biggest. It’s had some hiccups like <a href="https://ny.eater.com/2016/6/14/11932610/nyc-la-sirena-review-menu">negative reviews</a>, and a year after it opened, it <a href="https://ny.eater.com/2017/1/12/14243040/la-sirena-nyc-changes-tapas">pivoted, bringing on Sasso</a> to add more adventurous elements to the menu. </p>
<div class="c-float-right"> <figure class="e-image">
<img alt="Anthony Sasso" data-mask-text="false" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/EsgTfMslbP4CM8QSqrDOI_IviGk=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/7796459/20170111-La_Sirena_Tapas-18.0.jpg">
<cite>Photo by Nick Solares</cite>
<figcaption>Anthony Sasso at La Sirena</figcaption>
</figure>
</div>
<p id="bRAUBs">Multiple sources tell Eater that sales had slowed even before allegations of Batali’s misconduct came to light, but following allegations against Batali and news of <a href="https://ny.eater.com/2018/5/20/17374614/mario-batali-nypd-investigation">an NYPD investigation</a> into his behavior, the restaurant has had a particularly rough run, sources tell Eater. Less than two months after initial news of the accusations broke in December, La Sirena management was told that the restaurant would be closing, multiple sources tell Eater. It ended up staying open, but a number of kitchen and front-of-house staff were let go, sources say. Rumors continue to swirl at the restaurant and at the company that La Sirena would be the first of Batali’s New York restaurant to close post-scandal, sources say.</p>
<p id="UDaDjb">One La Sirena employee, who asked to remain anonymous for fear of career repercussions, says one of the restaurant’s two dining rooms has been closed for regular dining service for more than a year, and is being <a href="https://www.eater.com/2016/12/13/13926432/cowork-space-cafe-restaurant-spacious">rented by co-working company Spacious</a>. The kitchen, once two-floors, has been consolidated to one with a smaller staff as well, the employee adds.</p>
<p id="vwdjT3">“It’s just been depressing here,” the staffer says. “I loved working here, but now we’re losing money, the restaurant can feel dead — and they aren’t telling us what’s going on.”</p>
<p id="83Gcku">In response to accusations of low morale, B&B says: “We’re very proud of the restaurant’s staff and management. They work hard every day to deliver great dining experiences for our guests. Anyone who goes to the restaurant can see their dedication.”</p>
<p id="93FNjg">Still, a hardworking staff alone can’t stave off the restaurant’s troubles, sources say. “It doesn’t seem like they are trying to save this place, it’s like a slow march to death,” the La Sirena employee says. “I feel like, at this point, if you’re gonna close, just close — or do something.”</p>
<p id="iNaMzF"><strong>Update</strong>: In a new statement, B&B says that the dining room used for Spacious has been converted into two private dining rooms in the evening, adding that the restaurant is profiting from the change. Spacious also uses the space during the day when the dining room is otherwise closed, the spokesperson says. In response to kitchen consolidation, the spokesperson says it was for “oversight reasons, not financial performance.” And La Sirena is now hiring more people in management and front-of-house, the spokesperson adds. </p>
<p id="wqQ8HN">“The partnership with Spacious, the kitchen consolidation, the south dining room transformation, and staff changes were all made to meet the restaurant’s evolving market and improve its operations,” the statement says. “These have all succeeded, we’ve been hiring more talent, and that’s a tribute to management’s flexibility to meet guest demand.” </p>
<aside id="v6T97n"><div data-anthem-component="newsletter" data-anthem-component-data='{"slug":"ny-eater"}'></div></aside>
https://ny.eater.com/2018/7/11/17562006/la-sirena-chef-mario-bataliIrene Plagianos2018-05-30T15:25:54-04:002018-05-30T15:25:54-04:00Mario Batali Groped Fans While Posing for Photos, Several Women Allege
<figure>
<img alt="Mario Batali illustration" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/eKZ-q4ys3nLem3_oH033WOsuZKA=/200x0:1800x1200/1310x983/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/59899575/Feat_BataliAndFans_Final.0.jpg" />
</figure>
<p>Amid an investigation by the NYPD, seven more women have alleged that the disgraced chef touched them inappropriately </p> <p class="p--has-dropcap p-large-text" id="rREzCr"><strong>For years, Natali Tene considered</strong> herself a fan of Mario Batali. “I grew up watching him on TV; I used to imagine that I’d be a guest on <em>Molto Mario</em>, having him cook for me,” said the 28-year-old, who lives in Boston. “I just loved him.” When <a href="https://ny.eater.com/2017/12/11/16759540/mario-batali-sexual-misconduct-allegations">news broke in December</a> that Batali was accused by multiple women of sexual misconduct, she says that she felt great anger toward him — but also a sense of relief. </p>
<p id="FFZGFv">In April of last year, Tene said, Batali allegedly groped her at <a href="https://boston.eater.com/venue/6434/towne">Towne Stove and Spirits</a>, a Boston bar next to the city’s Eataly. She claims that Batali, who seemed intoxicated, suggested they take selfies together, then rubbed her breasts, grabbed her backside, put his hands between her legs, and kept squeezing her face into his as he kissed her. The resulting photos, which she provided to Eater, were “shockingly uncomfortable,” she said. A friend who was there with her said he witnessed Batali being “handsy.” </p>
<p id="3CUGvt">“I was just in total disbelief when he touched me like that; I couldn’t believe it when it was happening,” Tene said. “In the moment it was just so crazy, it was humiliating. The more I thought about it later, the angrier I got. But I thought maybe I was alone, maybe it was an isolated incident. When I saw the news, I had this feeling like, ‘Yes, he’s being exposed as a creep’ — but also sadness and lots of anger that he got away with this behavior for so long.” </p>
<hr class="p-entry-hr" id="gfNA1t">
<p id="VXiCw9"><strong>Last week, the </strong><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/12/12/dining/ken-friedman-sexual-harassment.html"><strong>wide-ranging</strong> sexual misconduct allegations</a> against celebrity chef Batali — which <a href="https://ny.eater.com/2017/12/11/16759540/mario-batali-sexual-misconduct-allegations">span more than two decades</a> and include grabbing, unwanted touching, and <a href="https://ny.eater.com/2017/12/22/16809430/batali-bastianich-misconduct-restaurant-culture">abusive, sexualized language</a> — <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/21/dining/mario-batali-sexual-assault.html">reached a new level</a>: <a href="https://ny.eater.com/2018/5/20/17374614/mario-batali-nypd-investigation">NYPD confirmed</a> that it is investigating Batali for two separate sexual assault accusations, both strikingly similar. (He has denied these allegations.) It means Batali could ultimately face criminal consequences for alleged misconduct — not just personal or business ones, like <a href="https://www.eater.com/2017/12/15/16780180/mario-batali-fired-the-chew">his firing from <em>The Chew</em></a> and being <a href="https://ny.eater.com/2018/4/2/17189042/mario-batali-restaurants-nyc-divesting">pushed out</a> of close to two dozen restaurants and other businesses. </p>
<p id="z6yfXT">Since Batali’s alleged sexual misconduct became public last December — and word spread about <a href="https://mobile.nytimes.com/2018/04/02/dining/mario-batali-sexual-harassment.html">his attempted comeback</a> this April — more women, like Tene, have come forward to Eater to share their experiences with Batali. These new allegations bring the number of women accusing Batali of sexual misconduct — who’ve spoken to Eater, the <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/food/wp/2017/12/12/i-want-to-see-you-naked-when-alcohol-flowed-mario-batali-turned-abusive-workers-say/"><em>Washington Post</em></a>, the <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/12/12/dining/ken-friedman-sexual-harassment.html"><em>New York Times</em></a>, and <a href="https://ny.eater.com/2018/5/20/17374614/mario-batali-nypd-investigation"><em>60 Minutes</em></a>, and who have <a href="https://www.eater.com/2017/12/12/16767322/siobhan-thompson-mario-batali-sexual-harassment">posted publicly on Twitter</a> — to at least 18. Though Batali has said that many of the accusations “match up” with his behavior, he has denied the allegations of nonconsensual sex. </p>
<p id="LFbWng">The additional incidents shared with Eater did not escalate to the rape allegations currently being investigated by police, but together, they paint a broader picture of the chef’s alleged misconduct, behavior that started at least as early as the mid-’90s and continued until as recently October 2017. Unlike most of the previously reported incidents, many of the new alleged victims who spoke with Eater did not work with Batali; instead, like Tene, they were strangers — fans or people in the restaurant industry who respected or adored him. Each of these women alleges that his inappropriate touching — including rubbing breasts, grabbing behinds, and forced, open mouthed kisses — occurred either at a bar or industry event, and in most cases shortly after, or while, they posed for photos with him. “I’ve just felt sick since the new allegations,” Sara Watson, a former Batali fan who happened to encounter him in a bar in 2016, told Eater. “I was left feeling disgusted, and shocked — but now I see his actions in a different way, as more dangerous.”</p>
<p id="AB2OLQ">Additionally, other alleged victims, who worked for Batali, described new accounts of his behavior, including his reputation in one of his restaurants as a “serial crotch grazer,” a move where he would allegedly caress the back of his hand against a woman’s crotch. </p>
<p id="8vH8x6">For Jenny McCoy, <a href="http://www.jennymccoy.com/about-jenny/">an esteemed pastry chef</a> and cookbook author, the severe allegations leveled against Batali — coupled with reports of his plans for a comeback and an earlier apology to fans with a pizza-dough cinnamon roll recipe attached — have so “enraged” her that she now wants to put her name on the record. McCoy was one of four anonymous women that accused Batali of groping in Eater’s December story. As she previously described, soon after meeting Batali, a chef she had long admired, at an event in New Orleans in 2007, he vigorously rubbed her breasts when wine was spilled on her chest. </p>
<p id="BZswuP">She hopes that women will continue to come forward, to be more vocal about men who abuse and harass them, she said. “These men, men like Batali, who are powerful and delusional, won’t back down, obviously,” she said. “So we need to keep using our voices, women and men, to make a real change, a real cultural shift — and no longer tolerate this behavior.” </p>
<p id="LYXAnS">Eater is choosing to publish clips of two of these encounters, with the permission of the women in them. We realize the clips may be disturbing to readers, but the reporting around these issues can often seem abstracted; the women have agreed to make them public to offer a fuller view into what they experienced.</p>
<p id="zHvXaY">In a statement, Batali and Bastianich Hospitality Group reiterated that it will finalize Batali’s divestment from the restaurants by July 1 and that the chef has not been involved since December. The company also reiterated that it has had sexual harassment policies for more than 10 years, adding that it took an additional step following allegations by hiring an outside investigations firm. Batali declined to comment for this story. </p>
<hr class="p-entry-hr" id="8LZ407">
<p id="nKm0Ew"><strong>Tene said that before </strong>she happened to meet Batali in April 2017, he was her favorite celebrity chef. She couldn’t believe that he was just a few seats away from her at a bar that she regularly visits with friends. Excited, but too nervous to approach him, she just snapped a photo of him on her iPhone from afar. </p>
<p id="Ik9yQi">Batali noticed her taking the picture and called her over, Tene alleges. “Then, I felt really nervous because I thought he was going to be very angry about me taking the photo,” she said. “I walked over apologetic, saying that I would delete the photo, I was just a fan — but he just quickly asked to see it and said, ‘Let’s take selfies,’ so I was like, ‘Oh, great!’”</p>
<div id="4TnlFV"><div class="c-float-right c-float-hang">
<a href="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/11449501/BataliFan_01.0.mp4"><img src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/11449427/veil1.png"></a><p class="caption">One woman alleges that Batali pushed her face against his after insisting on a selfie session</p>
</div></div>
<p id="E70Sao">But moments later, her excitement turned into shock and discomfort, she said. “He was just so drunk, and I’m, like, trying to smile for these pictures, and he’s pushing my face into his, kissing me, rubbing my breasts, my body and saying, ‘One more pic, one more.’ It all happened so fast, in the moment I was just like, ‘What is going on, this is so pervy — is this how you treat your fans?’” When she put a stop to the photo session, Batali allegedly told her that he was in town visiting Eataly and asked her if she wanted to join him at his hotel, she said. “I just ended the conversation as quickly as possible and left,” she said.</p>
<p id="8L5ORn">“At the time, it was all so shocking, it just felt crazy, I just wanted it to be over,” she said. “But I just kept getting angrier about it — why would you humiliate a fan?” Now, she feels “heartbroken,” she said. “I feel heartbroken for these other women, I feel disgust. I feel like what he did to me wasn’t one drunken mistake; I feel like he was a predator.”</p>
<p id="rXTxBc">In Watson’s case, she spotted Batali at a bar near her home in New Orleans in January 2016. “I feel like he literally treated me like a piece of food,” Watson, now 31, said. “He put his tongue in my ear, he licked my face, he grabbed me, touched me all over.”</p>
<p id="2WBg4q">Earlier in the evening, she’d been at the <a href="https://linkstryjewski.org/">Link Stryjewski Foundation</a>’s flagship nonprofit event Bal Masque that Batali had catered, but she didn’t expect to see him at her local dive bar, the Saint, hours later, she said. Watson, a self-described food lover who said she “admired” Batali and was thrilled to get the chance to try his food at the event, decided to ask for a photo. But the encounter quickly devolved from there, she said. Within moments he was touching her, allegedly made a comment about wanting to give her oral sex, tongued her face and ear, and put his hands “all over my butt, thighs, the whole vaginal area,” she said, before she could push him off and walk away, stunned and horrified.</p>
<p id="yh3VFH">“I had never had anyone do something like that to me — it was appalling, he had no shame,” Watson said. “He was obviously drunk, but I don’t think that’s an excuse.” Her boyfriend, who was at the bar that night, confirmed Watson’s account; she also showed Eater the resulting photograph. </p>
<p id="0dWKyb">”When someone does something as gross as Batali did, you’ll never forget it, but what are you going to do? You kind of chalk it up to one terrible night and move on,” Watson said. “But to think about about the trauma other women must be dealing with, and to think about the way he acted as part of a bigger and terrible pattern, this brazen doing whatever he wanted for decades, it’s just devastating.”</p>
<p id="uF7ef4">The following year, in January 2017, Rebecca Marshall met Batali at an event for the Link Stryjewski Foundation, just like the one that Watson had attended. Following a photo op, Batali also crossed the line with Marshall physically, she alleges. Marshall, a 60-year-old woman who’s worked in restaurants on and off since 1978, didn’t know him personally, but he was “someone I looked up to,” she said — frequently visiting restaurants like Babbo and Otto, watching him on TV, and using his cookbooks. “I thought he had the goods,” Marshall said. She approached him to take a photo. He agreed, and motioned for her to sit in his lap, she said. </p>
<p id="ctYVvH">She did so, thinking that it was part of the party atmosphere, she said. But Batali eventually crossed an uncomfortable line, she said. As her friend snapped photos, Batali started kissing her on the cheek, and when Marshall turned her head, he “stuck his tongue in my mouth,” Marshall said. She started to laugh and leaned back from his lap, using momentum to get off, she said; her friend confirmed that she witnessed and photographed the events, saying that she watched “for signals” that Marshall needed more help.</p>
<div id="0ZvEDl">
<a href="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/11449485/BataliFan_02.0.mp4"><img src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/11449551/veil2wide.png"></a><p class="caption"> One woman alleges Batali "stuck his tongue down my throat" during a photo; she laughed and tried to lean away, unsure of what else to do | Photo by Ashley Pridmore</p>
</div>
<p id="CqWibK">“I was laughing because I didn’t know what else to do. It was absurd; it was surreal,” Marshall said. “There’s that razor’s edge where it becomes from being bawdy to being creepy.”</p>
<p id="XlWrxS">But at the time, Marshall — who’s experienced other unsavory encounters throughout her long history in the industry — tried to laugh off the experience, she said, adding that her first instinct “was to protect him.” She even posted the photo to Instagram without tagging Batali, trying to make light of it with a caption, “I didn’t order the tongue with my dinner.” After further allegations came out, she realized that “I wasn’t an idiot for putting myself in that position; his behavior was off,” she said. </p>
<p id="sTJmfN">Since she <a href="https://cherrybombe.com/86-this/rebecca-marshall">wrote about the experience for Cherry Bombe</a> without naming Batali, she’s heard from some peers who have said things like “it’s just a kiss, no big deal,” Marshall said. “But it still feels really gross,” she said of the forced kiss. “Why do you think that’s okay?” </p>
<p id="oxBB3B">Following allegations in December, the Link Stryjewski Foundation <a href="https://nola.eater.com/2017/12/11/16762172/mario-batali-sexual-harassment-bal-masque-2018-new-orleans-nola">removed Batali</a> from its headlining January event. In a statement, the organization said it was not made aware of any incidents and that “our staff is empowered to bring any issues to our attention from within and without, either to their managers on staff, the owners, or directly to the HR department.”</p>
<p id="9l87cM">Sharelle Klaus said her first, and only, encounter with Batali was “outrageous.” In June 2012, she was introduced to Batali by a mutual friend when they all bumped into each other at a restaurant in Aspen, the night before the annual <em>Food & Wine</em> festival in the city. Klaus, who lives in Seattle, where Batali grew up, said she was thrilled to meet the famed chef. She’s also the founder and CEO of a beverage company and was happy to make the industry connection, she said.</p>
<p id="ROkSw2">Within a couple of moments of them meeting, Klaus, 48, said Batali — who seemed inebriated — suggested the pair take a photo together. She smiled wide and posed next to Batali, but a moment after the photo was snapped, she said he thrust his hand down her pants, beneath her underwear, and grabbed her butt. “I literally jumped, said something like ‘Whoa.’ I was in total shock,” she said. “This was in a restaurant; this was just brazen and crazy.” In disbelief, Klaus, who had been leaving the restaurant before encountering Batali, just walked out. “In one moment you go from being really excited to meet this guy, who’s like a hometown hero, to just disgust,” she said. “He obviously has no shame.” Her daughter corroborated the incident; Eater has also seen the photo.</p>
<p id="JI7E6J">Another woman, who asked to remain anonymous because she fears repercussions in her industry, said less than 30 minutes after her own chance meeting with Batali, he cupped his hand around her left breast and refused to let go. In November 2008, the woman went to meet a friend at the Spotted Pig, the now-infamous restaurant where Batali is <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/12/12/dining/ken-friedman-sexual-harassment.html">accused of sexually assaulting a woman</a>, as well as other sexual misconduct and harassment toward employees. There, she ran into another friend, who invited her up to a private room on the third floor. “We took seats at this long table, and I realized Mario Batali was sitting next to me — then I saw Anne Burrell sitting at the other end of the table,” she said. “I wasn’t in their industry and I can’t say I was big fan of Mario’s, but I definitely felt like, ‘Oh, this is cool, this is one of those only-in-New York kind of experiences.’” (Burrell, through a spokesman, said she does not recall the incident.)</p>
<p id="UR7owb">The woman alleges she had been chatting with Batali for a bit, less than a half hour, when all of a sudden he “fully palmed” her left breast with his hand. “In total shock, I just said, ‘Would you kindly remove your hand from my breast?’ And he just looked at me, still holding my breast and said ‘Why should I?’” she recalled. “I pointed to his wedding ring and said ‘Well, you’re married and this is disgusting.’” He laughed it off, she said, and then eventually took his hand off of her. She then got up and walked to the other side of the room, she said. Her friend corroborated the incident. </p>
<p id="CN4Bzb">“It was just horrifying to me. I mean, how do you treat people like this?” she said. “This man means nothing to me, but I’m still repulsed by him and think what he did to me was awful. I can’t even imagine the way the women who had to work for him, and deal with his abuse, must feel.” </p>
<hr class="p-entry-hr" id="FFb3uI">
<p id="AXqldY"><strong>Many women who worked</strong> for the celebrity chef have accused him of inappropriate touching, saying that the touching was an assertion of power. Now, additional former employees have spoken with Eater about Batali’s conduct from some nearly 20 years ago. </p>
<p id="y2gJ5H">One woman who worked at Lupa from 2002 to about 2007, starting as a server and eventually becoming a manager, told Eater that she will never forget the first time she met Batali because in lieu of shaking her hand, he rubbed her crotch. “It was so bizarre, and shocking — I had this moment, like, ‘Is this how people in New York shake hands?’” said the woman, who asked to remain anonymous because she still works in the food industry </p>
<p id="iCllkb">The woman, who had been working at Lupa for a couple of weeks, spotted Batali sitting at the bar with a woman at another one of his nearby restaurants, Babbo, in May 2002. Seeing that they were among the last people in the restaurant, he bought her and her friend a round of drinks, she said. “Since I hadn’t met him yet, with some encouragement from friends that were with me, I decided I’d go to introduce myself,” she said. “He was friendly, he said he knew who I was — which I’m sure he didn’t — and when I reached out my hand to shake his, he instead pushed the back of his hand into the top of my crotch. I described it [to people over the years] as ‘knuckling my grassy knoll.’ He caressed it, it was just the strangest thing.”</p>
<p id="TqHrsu">Stunned and bewildered, the woman said she awkwardly said goodbye and walked away. In the years that she worked for Batali, she said she periodically saw him come into the restaurant, usually late at night, and drink at the bar. He’d often say flirtatious things to her, like “love you” or “marry me,” if he happened to notice her passing by, she alleges — but she just tried to keep her distance. “We all knew he was sleazy. We dreaded when he’d come in, because we knew he’d keep everyone there late, drinking and doing what he does,” the woman said, but added that he never touched her again. A former Lupa coworker and another friend of the woman confirmed they were told of Batali’s alleged crotch-touching.</p>
<p id="BAVSOZ">Another former Lupa employee, who worked at the restaurant from 2008 to 2010 but did not overlap with the former employee who claims that Batali touched her crotch, said that Batali had a reputation as a “serial crotch grazer.” Though this did not happen to her, she offered a description of a “specific, bizarre act” where he would push the back of his hand into a server’s crotch or “lightly cup” a woman’s crotch as he was sitting and the server was standing. She said this was discussed among female servers, often in a joking manner, the way that much unsavory behavior in the restaurant was discussed: Although often said with humor, the staffer’s warnings to “stay away from his hands” were meant to be taken seriously, the woman said, because of Batali’s reputation for allegedly touching female employees.</p>
<p id="WKrKfv">A different woman, a former hostess and maitre d’ at Batali’s Lupa restaurant from about 1999 to 2000, said that one evening in 1999, she was at a small, neighboring Greenwich Village restaurant, ’Ino — owned by Batali’s Lupa business partner, Jason Denton — when she noticed Batali sitting at a booth with a woman. </p>
<p id="RfqtmX">“I was just trying to walk past, in this tiny restaurant, and Batali grabbed me, pulled me onto his lap like I was a toy, and started trying to push my face into his, trying to kiss me,” said the women, who asked to remain anonymous because she remains in the food industry and still fears repercussions. “I was just disgusted, in shock — I was about 19 years old at the time, barely weighed 100 pounds, and here was this powerful, much bigger older man, someone I worked for, treating me like I was his plaything. It was gross; it was mortifying.”</p>
<p id="3zlYOU">The woman said she managed to pull herself off of Batali and ran out crying. She was casually seeing Jason Denton’s brother, Joe, who ran out to console her. Jason Denton later told her that Batali apologized, but she never heard anything directly from him. (Denton, through a spokesman, said he did not recall the incident.) “When I would see Batali at Lupa, often times with his wife, with his kids, he just didn’t acknowledge me at all,” she said.</p>
<hr class="p-entry-hr" id="i39Rjb">
<p id="R2PxPZ"><strong>As misconduct allegations continue</strong> to come out, women who allege that Batali inappropriately touched them can no longer see a future for him in the industry, even if they felt they could have forgiven him before, they said. </p>
<p id="y8MFy0">“Even without my name, I’d hoped that telling these stories, with the stories of other women, would at least be enough to make him take a real step back, truly reflect on what he’s done, on his disregard and disrespect for women, for people in our industry who saw him as a leader, as probably the most well-known chef in America,” said McCoy, the pastry chef who initially spoke to Eater anonymously. “But to learn about the depths of the allegations against him, just after he had the audacity to throw around ideas like starting a new company with a woman, like that makes everything okay, just a couple of months after you were exposed as a total creep — he’s just failed so miserably, I’m repulsed.” </p>
<p id="hMXLQ1">For a while, Marshall, who alleges that Batali forced his tongue in her mouth in 2017, said that she missed the Batali she used to enjoy — the food, the persona, the cookbooks. But newer allegations in the last month “[have] soured me on that,” she said. Watson said she’s felt his apologies have not been sincere, like the one with a pizza-dough cinnamon rolls recipe attached, and is aghast over reports that he may be attempting a comeback. “Initially I thought that if you are trying to redeem yourself, you should probably seem like you are actually looking for redemption, not just a way back into the spotlight — but now I can’t believe he would even attempt to make a return,” she said.</p>
<p class="c-end-para" id="IVOo63">Despite pushback from her peers in the industry, Marshall said she doesn’t regret talking publicly about her experience with Batali. And she has hope for younger women in light of everything happening with the #MeToo movement right now, she said; after talking at length with her daughter, who is 25, Marshall thinks the next generation may be less tolerant of such bad behavior — and less likely to blame themselves. “I hope that [people] understand that if it happens to them, they don’t have to be ashamed,” she said. “It’s not anything I did. I asked for a picture.” </p>
<hr class="p-entry-hr" id="9eZD6v">
<p id="MhGFVO"><small>Anyone with information about alleged misconduct in the restaurant world can contact Eater at tips@eater.com or </small><a href="https://www.eater.com/2017/11/1/16572850/send-secure-tips-to-eater"><small>via these secure methods</small></a><small>.</small></p>
<p id="o0lHh2"><small><em>Edited by Serena Dai and Matt Buchanan</em></small><br><small><em>Fact checked by Samantha Schuyler and Stefanie Tuder</em></small><br><small><em>Additional reporting by Serena Dai</em></small><br><small><em>Photo illustration by Eater; Photos: Lambert/Getty Images; Paper Boat Creative/Getty Images; Laura Cavanaugh/Getty Images; Keystone-France/Getty Images</em></small><br><small><em>Additional photo editing by Mariya Pylayev</em></small></p>
<aside id="qp9inu"><div data-anthem-component="newsletter" data-anthem-component-data='{"slug":"ny-eater"}'></div></aside>
https://ny.eater.com/2018/5/30/17407834/mario-batali-misconduct-fans-photosIrene Plagianos2018-01-09T11:23:05-05:002018-01-09T11:23:05-05:00Mario Batali’s Restaurant Empire Plans Name Change After Misconduct Allegations
<figure>
<img alt="Mario Batali" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/VdUZ_gKRrjkp_Pl5Mp34veyf54U=/24x0:945x691/1310x983/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/58260681/batali.0.0.jpg" />
<figcaption>Mario Batali at Otto | Photo by Daniel Krieger</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Batali & Bastianich Hospitality Group, which runs Del Posto and Babbo, is rebranding</p> <p id="z4qclg">The restaurant empire owned by chef <strong>Mario Batali</strong> and his business partner, <strong>Joe Bastianich</strong>, is rebranding — possibly to a new name without a mention of the disgraced chef. </p>
<p id="pwbaBJ">Employees of the <strong>Batali & Bastianich Hospitality Group</strong> were told in a letter emailed on December 22 that a new company, with a new name, will be created “whose structure will better reflect that our restaurants’ success is built on the contributions of many, not just one or two.” With a restructuring, the new company will “bring on additional senior management experienced in ensuring everyone has a respectful workplace,” according to the letter obtained by Eater. </p>
<p id="CFJO6j">B&B manages about two dozen restaurants, including high profile New York City ones like Del Posto, Babbo, and Lupa. </p>
<p id="RKTGoK">The letter arrived to staffers the same day that Eater <a href="https://ny.eater.com/2017/12/22/16809430/batali-bastianich-misconduct-restaurant-culture">published an investigation into the “boys’ club” culture</a> at the company’s restaurants — an environment that allegedly fostered misconduct, current and former staffers said. Batali himself <a href="https://ny.eater.com/2017/12/11/16759540/mario-batali-sexual-misconduct-allegations">has already stepped away from day-to-day operations</a> after accusations of sexual misconduct, behavior that he admitted “match up with ways” that he has acted. </p>
<p id="pFjDoq">B&B declined to comment on the timeline of the changes or what the new name might be: “Though we cannot yet address specific initiatives, we are in the process of making strategic changes in an effort to improve the culture of our organization,” the statement says. </p>
<p id="3YG8nb">Besides an announcement of a new name and new structure, the company letter to staffers noted other steps that it plans to take to create a better work environment. As Eater <a href="https://ny.eater.com/2017/12/22/16809430/batali-bastianich-misconduct-restaurant-culture">reported in December</a>, Bastianich’s mother, chef <strong>Lidia Bastianich</strong>, and <strong>Nancy Silverton</strong>, who helms B&B’s LA restaurants like Mozza, will take on greater leadership roles in the company. </p>
<p id="f7Eaw3">In the letter signed by Joe, Lidia, and Silverton, they write that along with steering the company’s culinary direction, Lidia and Silverton “are intent on making sure that no one experiences sexual or any other form of harassment and that, if they do, our policies will be strictly, and swiftly enforced and offenders will be held to account.” They also promised to make sure all staffers have equal opportunity for promotion. The letter can be seen in full below.</p>
<p id="YpoiHJ">The company has already taken steps to scrub Batali’s name from the restaurants. The day allegations came out, B&B <a href="https://ny.eater.com/2017/12/12/16766330/batali-nyc-restaurants-sexual-misconduct-allegations">removed the chef’s cookbooks</a> from restaurants like Lupa. Batali’s photo and name is also no longer on restaurant websites, though several restaurant Facebook pages still list him on their “about” pages. Mario Batali’s <a href="http://www.mariobatali.com/">own website</a> also continues to list all the businesses.</p>
<p id="KSr8HC">But despite the name removal, Batali continues to be financially tied as a partner to high-profile and still-popular restaurants like Babbo, Del Posto, and Otto. Each individual restaurant has a different ownership structure, with varying investors and chefs having stakes. </p>
<p id="BVehqQ">The restaurant empire is also grappling with misconduct beyond Batali. Longtime Babbo head chef Frank Langello, who was accused by multiple men and women of sexual misconduct, <a href="https://ny.eater.com/2018/1/8/16862058/frank-langello-chef-babbo-nyc-out-sexual-misconduct#comments">left the restaurant in January</a>; sources said he was fired for alleged behavior. </p>
<div id="7mlDIW">
<p style=" margin: 12px auto 6px auto; font-family: Helvetica,Arial,Sans-serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 14px; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; -x-system-font: none; display: block;"> <a title="View B&B Letter to Staff 12.22.18 on Scribd" href="https://go.redirectingat.com?id=66960X1516589&xs=1&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.scribd.com%2Fdocument%2F368757588%2Fb-b-letter-to-staff-12-22-18%23from_embed&referrer=eater.com&sref=https%3A%2F%2Fny.eater.com%2F2018%2F1%2F9%2F16867930%2Fmario-batali-company-name-change" style="text-decoration: underline;" rel="sponsored nofollow noopener" target="_blank">B&B Letter to Staff 12.22.18</a> by <a title="View Eater NY's profile on Scribd" href="https://go.redirectingat.com?id=66960X1516589&xs=1&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.scribd.com%2Fuser%2F300916977%2FEater-NY%23from_embed&referrer=eater.com&sref=https%3A%2F%2Fny.eater.com%2F2018%2F1%2F9%2F16867930%2Fmario-batali-company-name-change" style="text-decoration: underline;" rel="sponsored nofollow noopener" target="_blank">Eater NY</a> on Scribd</p>
<iframe class="scribd_iframe_embed" title="B&B Letter to Staff 12.22.18" src="https://www.scribd.com/embeds/368757588/content?start_page=1&view_mode=scroll&access_key=key-f6t2P7U0OxQ1hUytMUnd&show_recommendations=true" data-auto-height="false" data-aspect-ratio="0.7729220222793488" scrolling="no" id="doc_91733" width="100%" height="600" frameborder="0"></iframe>
</div>
<aside id="9KVW8Z"><div data-anthem-component="newsletter" data-anthem-component-data='{"slug":"ny-eater"}'></div></aside><p id="hxINSe"></p>
https://ny.eater.com/2018/1/9/16867930/mario-batali-company-name-changeIrene Plagianos2017-12-22T08:14:27-05:002017-12-22T08:14:27-05:00Mario Batali and Joe Bastianich Fostered a ‘Boys’ Club’ Culture of Misconduct at Restaurants, Dozens Allege
<figure>
<img alt="Joe Bastianich and Mario Batali" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/Gc4HmAsiJdNhRJs2PIdQRtNtaVY=/200x0:1800x1200/1310x983/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/58082095/Batali_Bastianich_Lede.0.png" />
</figure>
<p>Staffers at B&B Hospitality Group restaurants claim the owners’ “sleazy” behavior — including Bastianich’s — emboldened others to act similarly</p> <p class="p--has-dropcap p-large-text" id="sjWI8c"><strong>It’s been five months, </strong>and Brianna Pintens is still not sure what was more revolting: being grabbed by a line cook at Del Posto, where she worked as a server, or the way that a manager dismissed her complaint.</p>
<p id="EWPLX4">“[She] rolled her eyes at me,” she told Eater. “I told her what happened, and that he’d been asking me out and making comments about my looks for a year, to the point that it became harassing, and her response was, ‘You realize you’re turning this into an HR situation. Do you really want to do this?’” On September 7, after just over a year working there, and weeks after the line cook lunged at her, squeezed her in a bear hug, and told her that her appearance was “driving me crazy,” Pintens quit. </p>
<p id="QFvv07">Pintens is one of seven current and former employees of Del Posto — Mario Batali and Joe Bastianich’s Michelin-starred restaurant, often considered <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2016/04/06/dining/del-posto-restaurant-luxury.html?_r=0">the company’s fine dining crown jewel</a> — who told Eater that they either endured or witnessed degrading and dismissive comments toward women, and, in some cases, inappropriate touching from coworkers. </p>
<p id="YaMKbQ">Last week, in the wake of <a href="https://ny.eater.com/2017/12/11/16759540/mario-batali-sexual-misconduct-allegations">an Eater investigation into Batali’s alleged sexual misconduct</a>, the celebrity chef stepped away from his restaurant empire and <a href="https://www.eater.com/2017/12/15/16780180/mario-batali-fired-the-chew">was fired</a> as the co-host of <em>The Chew</em>. Even though Batali is no longer involved in day-to-day operations at his restaurants, dozens of current and former employees across the B&B empire, from restaurants including Babbo, Otto, Lupa, Del Posto, and Las Vegas’s B&B Ristorante and Carnevino, told Eater that issues of misconduct span the last 15 years, and that the problems run deeper than one man. </p>
<p id="1K4cSQ">Staffers allege that Batali and his longtime business partner Joe Bastianich, who remains involved in the restaurants, are the architects of a male-dominated “boys’ club” environment that, in some ways, has become synonymous with restaurant culture as a whole. The restaurant world is known for late-night, loose, sometimes wild culture, but staffers told Eater that Batali and Bastianich epitomized the archetype of rich, powerful restaurateurs who party hard with beautiful women and celebrities, and indulge in what several former employees called the most debaucherous behavior they had ever witnessed. </p>
<p id="WN2geA">The partners’ behavior laid the foundation for myriad issues, staffers claim: Problem employees who degraded staffers with sexual language or physical touching stayed at the company for years — even earning promotions — while women and men who experienced misconduct felt that they had little recourse. </p>
<p id="xIPHKw">Complaining, staffers say, was implicitly discouraged; most of the dozens of staffers who spoke with Eater feared repercussions, like being ostracized, fired, or even blacklisted from the restaurant industry entirely, if they filed formal grievances. The fear of being banned from other employment remains; many people spoke only under the condition of anonymity, though Eater verified their identities and employment at the restaurants.</p>
<p id="PdSePx">In a new statement to Eater, Batali said that he has always wanted people working at the restaurants “to feel comfortable and safe”: “I now realize that my completely inappropriate behavior impacted the behavior of others who worked in the restaurants. I am truly sorry and am very ashamed. It was never my intention to humiliate, cause discomfort or pain to anyone in the operations in any way.”</p>
<p id="DBeb3S">According to Eater interviews with dozens of people, word of Batali’s alleged groping and his general treatment of women had spread widely within the industry over the last two decades. Bastianich, who’s partnered with Batali since 1998, denied via a spokesperson that he had ever witnessed Batali grope an employee; he also said that he had “never heard” accusations of Batali’s sexual misconduct until the past week, and that the stories “have shaken me to the core.”</p>
<p id="3lbYi1">Bastianich admitted, though, that he had “heard [Batali] say inappropriate things” to staffers, and that he “should have done more” to criticize Batali. “I’m proud of what our teams accomplish every day, and I’ve always tried to show respect for them and their work,” Bastianich said in a statement. “It pains me that some employees feel differently, and I’m reexamining my own behavior to ensure that everyone I work with feels that respect.”</p>
<p id="Hex9LR">In an additional statement to Eater, B&B Hospitality Group — the company that manages about 24 restaurants owned by Batali, Bastianich, and others — said that while the company has had sexual harassment policies and training in place for over a decade, “it has become clear that we need to improve our culture.” More senior people will be hired to oversee operations, and an outside firm will survey staff to “examine the compliance” of various employees regarding the sexual harassment policies, the company said. Batali said he considered the steps “significant” and “meaningful.”</p>
<p id="wqhHZw">In a new development, LA-based chef Nancy Silverton and New York-based chef Lidia Bastianich, both celebrities in their own right, will be taking on leadership roles “to help ensure everyone has a safe and positive workplace and to steer our culinary direction,” B&B’s statement said. Lidia Bastianich, Joe’s mother, has been a partner in many B&B Hospitality restaurants since its inception; Silverton started the Mozza empire with Batali and Bastianich in 2007. Silverton, multiple people who worked for the Mozza restaurants in LA said, has a reputation among staff for being a champion of women.</p>
<p id="OBZGtp">“We have fallen short in creating an environment where every employee feels comfortable reporting complaints,” B&B’s statement said. “And we have fallen short at times when enforcing our policies. We are already taking steps to change.” </p>
<hr class="p-entry-hr" id="8Tvl28">
<p id="yWfbKg"><strong>A recent study showed that</strong> restaurant employees <a href="https://www.eater.com/2017/12/7/16746064/sexual-harassment-restaurant-workers-data-servers-cooks-bartenders">file more sexual harassment claims </a>than people in any other industry — and at B&B restaurants, many of which rank among the most high-profile eateries in the country, misconduct has been prolific for years, though most of it has gone unreported, more than a dozen sources said. While multiple people said they generally had a good experience at the company and cultures varied restaurant to restaurant, they still alleged that B&B generally favored men. </p>
<p id="231UKr">Among the first public renderings of this environment was Bill Buford’s seminal 2006 book <em>Heat,</em> which details the earlier years of Babbo, the popular upscale Greenwich Village restaurant that opened nearly 20 years ago, and which, staffers say, was notorious for wild partying. In an incident relayed in the book, a prep chef named Elisa Sarno complained to Batali about a particularly crude chef who used shorthand like “rape” for broccoli rabe (which is sometimes known as <em>cima di rape </em>in Italian, but is pronounced “rawpay”) and who gave lewd accounts about encounters with sex workers. Buford writes: “Batali told her there was nothing he could do. ‘Really, Elisa, this is New York, get used to it.’” The chef was moved to another restaurant owned by Joe and his mother Lidia Bastianich — and then eventually fired, Lidia told Buford, for “squeezing the butts of waitresses and asking them to perform oral sex.”</p>
<p id="Z1muyi">Since then, this pattern has repeated itself at Babbo. Five men and women who worked at the restaurant over the last 12 years, many of whom have worked in multiple high-end restaurants, claim that the Babbo kitchen is the most inappropriate environment they had ever worked in; several of them also called it the “most abusive” one they ever worked in. </p>
<p id="tmvDIB">The kitchen, helmed by executive chef Frank Langello — who is also described as “abusive” in <em>Heat</em> — was a “rat’s nest of harassment,” said one woman who worked in the kitchen during the mid-2000s. She said Langello was “relentless” in bullying both women and men — in particular, he needled women with sexual comments, teased them about their sex lives, and unnecessarily commented on their appearance. </p>
<p id="cmhnx2">A former male staffer said that when Langello showed women how to season a steak, he would rub the steaks “lewdly, stroking the meat by his crotch.” </p>
<p id="rLVap6">Langello would also do “bizarre, childish” things, like put his finger in women’s ears in a sexual manner, the former female employee alleges. “Frank seemed to like humiliating people,” she said. </p>
<p id="70Gc2i">Former staffers told Eater that Langello’s kitchen also fostered an environment where others felt emboldened to join in on the abuse. A different woman, who worked in the kitchen several years ago, alleges that one of Langello’s chefs targeted her for more than a year. “I would cry every day before going to work,” she said. In one particularly bad instance, the chef starting making lewd noises at her; he explained that he was mimicking what he imagined she would sound like if her boyfriend beat her, she recalled. She eventually quit after deciding that reporting the behavior was not a viable option. Langello declined to comment.</p>
<p id="39ynl9">Isaac Franco Nava, a former pastry chef at Babbo, who is Mexican and openly gay, claims that he was harassed by a male manager and two chefs, though not by Langello. While working at the restaurant, from November 2015 to April 2017, he alleges that men regularly called him racist and homophobic slurs, including “faggot,” “stupid Mexican,” and “<em>parajo</em>” — derogatory Spanish slang for gay. Franco Nava is suing Babbo, Batali, and B&B Hospitality Group, along with his alleged abusers, for harassment, which he calls “open and notorious.” His time at Babbo ended when he was fired; he alleges it was in retaliation for filing formal complaints. (B&B declined to comment on pending litigation.)</p>
<p id="MdcrnO">Other restaurants were also home to repeated misconduct, former and current staffers allege. Pintens, who left Del Posto earlier this year, alleges that one manager would regularly comment that women shouldn’t be made captains — the most senior level of server — “because they cried,” she recalls he said. She also alleges that she witnessed him telling a female staffer something like, “Is your boyfriend not taking care of you?” implying that her bad mood resulted from a lack of sex. Five other current and former staffers confirmed that this manager regularly behaved inappropriately toward women; he would sometimes ask women if they were on their period if they became emotional and called them “bitches.” One former male manager told Eater that women reported the staffer as “lewd” and “degrading,” though they did not want to file formal complaints; several female staffers refused to work with him. </p>
<p id="oUO6Vl">Women had complaints about other staffers at Del Posto, too. When Pintens told other female coworkers about the incident where a line cook grabbed her, they opened up about their own harassment at the hands of other male employees, she said. From those conversations, Pintens learned a common tactic used by Del Posto staffers to avoid men who acted inappropriately: They found “escape routes” out of the restaurant, she said. “The restaurant has lots of different exits and entrances, and they made it a point of changing up their paths, to steer clear of these guys,” she said. “But, you know, I had this moment like, <em>Wow, why do we have to do this? Is this the only way we can avoid this behavior?</em> It just seemed nuts to me.” </p>
<hr class="p-entry-hr" id="fxtlyh">
<p id="liaIfl"><strong>A core problem at B&B is that</strong> a certain class of managers and chefs seemed “untouchable,” numerous current and former staffers told Eater. It was so common for men who were repeatedly accused of misconduct to remain in the B&B world — they were sometimes moved to another restaurant, or simply promoted — that the phenomenon was described by several people as “the B&B shuffle.” (B&B said that it transfers both men and women among restaurants as “a key way to retain talent” and is “proud of this record.”)</p>
<p id="SVpkOR">Langello has been at Babbo since 2000 and executive chef since 2002. (He was sued for harassment in 2012, but the suit was dismissed. B&B Hospitality said in a statement that it could not comment on individual personnel, though it noted that Langello has undergone sexual harassment training.) At Del Posto, the manager whose behavior Pintens and other staffers described above remained at the restaurant for years, and was promoted, even though his degrading behavior toward women was well-known, multiple former and current Del Posto staffers allege. (The Del Posto manager no longer works for the company; the nature of his departure is not clear. B&B, which was informed of the man’s name, declined to comment, citing confidentiality for individual staff.)</p>
<p id="lGAsCR">A former Lupa employee named Taylor Mauch, who worked there from 2008 to 2010, first as a host, then as a maitre d’, said while she generally had a good experience, there was a different manager there for a period who actively made her uncomfortable — cornering her and complimenting her “to the point of being harassing,” she said. A former male employee who worked with Mauch confirmed that the same manager constantly made inappropriate comments about women and sex — even propositioning people for threesomes — after the employee asked him several times to stop. The manager had been moved to Lupa from Del Posto; a staffer confirmed the man had issues there as well. (The manager left the company in 2009. B&B declined to comment, again citing confidentiality for individual staff.)</p>
<p id="XPsQh1">In a statement, B&B said that every staffer receives an employee handbook when they are hired, which includes a policy on how people can report complaints. The company also said that employees have previously used the system, and B&B has “taken action against those who violated our sexual harassment policies, including terminating people.”</p>
<p id="G7Add9">But both men and women who worked at the company within the last 15 years told Eater that complaining to human resources was implicitly discouraged. When Mauch was a victim of alleged misconduct at Lupa, she said she did not know where to turn. “I was only 23 at the time, and I know I complained to coworkers, but I don’t even remember ever being told anything about how I could complain to HR or who I’d even contact at HR,” she said. </p>
<p id="IXPdUu">Former Babbo pastry chef Franco Nava’s lawsuit against the company alleges that his firing was in retaliation for filing complaints. “It was just awful,” Franco Nava told Eater. “It’s a very unprofessional kitchen. Batali knows exactly what’s going on, and he doesn’t care.” </p>
<p id="0LC4F8">“It’s understood that you’re expendable,” Lisandra Bernadet, who worked as a server at Lupa from 2013 to 2014, told Eater. “If you don’t like it, there will be some other girl to take your place.”</p>
<p id="CZKna0">Ultimately, sources said that the environment made it difficult to advance as a woman and led some people to quit rather than file formal complaints, including Pintens and one former Babbo staffer. “There is no way I wanted to go to HR,” the former Babbo employee told Eater. “You are marked as a social pariah — everyone knows who you are if you complain in this industry.”</p>
<p id="XgsMnG">To Bernadet, the larger issue was that “as a young woman in the restaurant industry, you have a lot to deal with, with male customers being abusive to you — and who am I going to turn to for support?” she said. “The general manager who makes sexist jokes? The guy who owns the company and leers at me and tells me I’m beautiful?”</p>
<p id="XCgkEl">Some people are trying to help change this culture, staffers said. Pintens, the former Del Posto server, said that the restaurant’s executive chef, Melissa Rodriguez — who’s been at the helm since February 2017 and is one of the few female executive chefs in the male-heavy fine dining world — spoke to her after she complained about the line cook’s behavior. While Pintens appreciated the conversation and felt Rodriguez took the complaint seriously, it was not enough to balance out the general experience at the restaurant and the initial dismissiveness of the manager, she said. “It was just the last straw,” Pintens said. “The female leadership thing at Del Posto is a bit of a facade; it’s still mostly men. The ‘boys will be boys’ attitude is very real, and it trickles down from the top of the company, from Mario and Joe.”</p>
<hr class="p-entry-hr" id="buRI2M">
<p id="f0nbZb"><strong>Over the last two weeks,</strong> Bastianich has made a point of visiting every restaurant in the B&B empire to condemn Batali’s behavior and to assure employees that the businesses will run normally despite Batali’s alleged misconduct and leave of absence. But for some staffers, it’s not a black-and-white, “good cop, bad cop” situation with Bastianich and Batali, they said. Multiple staffers said that while the men were different, they also considered them “two peas in a pod.”</p>
<p id="O9Cx3G">For years, the two could be found together, drinking for hours at wild parties at their restaurants, creating a “bacchanalia” atmosphere, sources said. Bastianich himself, in his 2012 memoir <em>Restaurant Man</em>, calls the two of them “hooligans” while describing their early years of drunken escapades. Later on, the restaurateur writes about partying with Batali until 6 a.m. at The Spotted Pig, where the <em>New York Times</em> <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/12/12/dining/ken-friedman-sexual-harassment.html?_r=0">reported numerous Batali indiscretions</a>. “Some of the parties might have been behind closed doors, but they flaunted their lifestyle,” said a former employee who worked at two B&B restaurants in the mid-2000s and was there working for some of those parties. “The attitude was that rules didn’t apply to them, they could do whatever they wanted.” That kind of behavior set a certain tone, causing some employees to feel like they had to ignore misconduct or that complaining about similar behavior from other staffers would be fruitless, they said. </p>
<p id="XXxwhP">One male manager who worked at Carnevino in Las Vegas during the 2010s told Eater that while he was originally thrilled to get a job with Batali and Bastianich, he left feeling “disgusted.” He said that it was very clear that there was a “boys’ club” and to get into that club, you felt pressure “to hang,” which meant drinking heavily with the two partners when they would come into town. He also claims to have seen Batali inappropriately touch employees while visibly intoxicated, but felt there was little he could do. “I felt so ashamed that the hostesses I hired were being manhandled right in front of me,” he said. “I was young, I was in my 20s, and I felt like I was powerless.” Moving ahead as a woman in the company meant that, for many, “you either had to tolerate or turn a blind eye to bad behavior,” he said.</p>
<p id="CsWMDk">In more recent years, the partners have been spotted together less frequently, since Bastianich started traveling more and judging more episodes of <em>MasterChef</em>. Even though the two have drifted apart, multiple managers, along other current and former employees, said that they couldn’t imagine how Bastianich would not be aware of Batali’s inappropriate behavior. In <em>Restaurant Man</em>, Bastianich details how much of a team he and Batali are, calling them “tag-team champs” and a “pure partnership” at Babbo. He writes about how the two of them curated every detail at the restaurant, with him running the front of house and Batali running the kitchen. Together, they took research trips to Italy, decided which guests would get which tables and what music played, and, sometimes after closing the restaurant, “let the party really get started.” </p>
<p id="iAHL4S"><em>Restaurant Man </em>also provides a window into the language that Bastianich uses to talk about women. He refers to “banging” women and advises the reader to target “Dutch and Australian chicks” when looking for “action” on the road in Italy, since they are the “low-hanging fruit”; Italian women, on the other hand, are tough, he writes. In another section, he writes that while it’s “not cool” to talk about attractiveness as a reason for hiring someone, you want hot guys and girls “with a nice set of tits” to be the bartenders, noting that a hostess is generally just an “hourly gig for a pretty girl.”</p>
<p id="oBmSVw">In a statement to Eater, Bastianich said that his memoir, which was hailed by food-world celebrity Anthony Bourdain as “a terrific trench-level primer on the biz,” was “written in a voice meant to entertain — it in no way, shape, or form reflects how I do business and work with my team,” Bastianich said. “It would be wrong to take excerpts from my book, place them in the context of this past week’s stories, and suggest they now say something about the way I treat our employees.” (In a a 2013 interview, Bastianich <a href="http://archive.jsonline.com/features/food/chef-joe-bastianich-tells-his-story-in-restaurant-man-mr84b9l-185307252.html">said about the book</a>, “<em>Restaurant Man</em> is kind of the story, an unabridged story of what happened in my life, the good bad and ugly. Some people might glean some life lessons. It is honest, not written as a press release. I think if you read the book you can understand what has made me, the son of an immigrant.”)</p>
<p id="ciQPRv">Even when Bastianich showed up at restaurants without Batali, he sometimes toed the line of appropriateness, multiple staffers allege. Though people who spoke with Eater said they were not aware of Bastianich touching women inappropriately, his behavior was repeatedly described as “sleazy” — including flirting with female staffers to the point where they felt uncomfortable, sources who worked at multiple B&B restaurants said. A former Del Posto manager who worked there within the last five years said that hostesses sometimes asked to be moved to different tasks when Bastianich showed up, because the restaurateur’s flirtations made them uncomfortable; a hostess at another restaurant said that when she worked there around 2013, Bastianich openly flirted with her and once encouraged her to drink while on her shift. </p>
<p id="f3p4wE">Bastianich denied flirting with staff, saying that he tried to “be friendly” to “put people at ease.” He also said in the statement that he implemented a “zero-tolerance policy” regarding drinking on duty more than 10 years ago, and denied that he encouraged drinking at work.</p>
<hr class="p-entry-hr" id="MDuSVk">
<p id="vb6eRx"><strong>In response to the allegations about the company</strong>, B&B Hospitality says that it’s putting several new policies in place in hopes of improving the environment. Bastianich also apologized that he “didn’t devote enough time to the business,” and promised to take action to make sure people feel comfortable filing complaints, though “the central goal is to develop the right culture where employees don’t have to file complaints.” Silverton’s promotion heartened at least two former employees, and Rodriguez’s recent rise to executive chef at Del Posto has also signaled positive changes for some staffers, who say she’s been responsive to sexual misconduct issues.</p>
<p id="MUo1qY">But for some women, the company’s behavior has already put an end to their relationship with B&B. Pintens said that while the misconduct she experienced at Del Posto “appalled” her, it was the company’s reaction to her complaints that prompted her departure. When she went to quit, management offered her a promotion, she said. She left anyway: “It would have meant a lot for my career, but it wasn’t worth it.”</p>
<p class="c-end-para" id="zU0LMa">“I’ve been in this industry for 15 years,” she said. “I think it’s time we stop tolerating this behavior.”</p>
<p id="BAXLoS"><em>Anyone with information about alleged misconduct in the restaurant world can contact Eater at tips@eater.com or </em><a href="https://www.eater.com/2017/11/1/16572850/send-secure-tips-to-eater"><em>via these secure methods</em></a><em>. </em></p>
<p id="N88fY6"><small><em>Edited by Serena Dai and Matt Buchanan</em></small><br><small><em>Fact checked by Samantha Schulyer</em></small><br><small><em>Photo illustration by </em></small><a href="http://www.withlovefrombrittany.com/"><small><em>Brittany Holloway-Brown</em></small></a><small><em>; photos by </em></small><a href="https://go.redirectingat.com?id=66960X1516589&xs=1&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.gettyimages.com%2Flicense%2F585277778&referrer=eater.com&sref=https%3A%2F%2Fny.eater.com%2F2017%2F12%2F22%2F16809430%2Fbatali-bastianich-misconduct-restaurant-culture" rel="sponsored nofollow noopener" target="_blank"><small><em>Eugene Gologursky/Getty Images</em></small></a><small><em>, </em></small><a href="https://go.redirectingat.com?id=66960X1516589&xs=1&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.gettyimages.com%2Flicense%2F599663456&referrer=eater.com&sref=https%3A%2F%2Fny.eater.com%2F2017%2F12%2F22%2F16809430%2Fbatali-bastianich-misconduct-restaurant-culture" rel="sponsored nofollow noopener" target="_blank"><small><em>Vittorio Zunino Celotto/Getty Images</em></small></a><small><em>, and </em></small><a href="https://go.redirectingat.com?id=66960X1516589&xs=1&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.gettyimages.com%2Flicense%2F200330166-002&referrer=eater.com&sref=https%3A%2F%2Fny.eater.com%2F2017%2F12%2F22%2F16809430%2Fbatali-bastianich-misconduct-restaurant-culture" rel="sponsored nofollow noopener" target="_blank"><small><em>Martin Barraud/Getty Images</em></small></a></p>
https://ny.eater.com/2017/12/22/16809430/batali-bastianich-misconduct-restaurant-cultureIrene Plagianos2017-12-11T08:01:00-05:002017-12-11T08:01:00-05:00Mario Batali Steps Away From Restaurant Empire Following Sexual Misconduct Allegations
<figure>
<img alt="Mario Batali" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/a2NdAK3PneBr9FMBBpJif1IAII0=/200x0:1800x1200/1310x983/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/57930265/Batali_BHB_1.1.0.png" />
</figure>
<p>Four women accuse the chef of inappropriate touching in a pattern of behavior that spans at least two decades, according to dozens of Eater interviews</p> <p class="p--has-dropcap p-large-text" id="B6BZE2">About 10 years ago,<strong> </strong>at the after-party for a wine auction in New Orleans, a woman in her 20s walked up to Mario Batali to introduce herself. As a chef, she was excited to meet one of the most revered figures in the restaurant industry. When they started talking, she recalls, she realized that he’d been drinking and he became what she characterized as “creepy” — “just giving me this provocative, icky feeling.” </p>
<p id="tMHn8J">Minutes into their conversation, she recalls, he told her, “Come work for me, I’ll pay you double what you’re making.” Moments later, someone bumped her glass, spilling wine all over her chest and down her scooped-neck shirt. She alleges that Batali began rubbing her breasts with his bare hands while saying something like, “Let me help you with that,” as he groped her chest. “He just went to town, and I was so shocked,” the chef says. “Jaw on the ground, I just stepped back from him in utter disgust and walked away.”</p>
<p id="gdD8Vh">The chef is one of four women who allege that Batali touched them inappropriately in a pattern of behavior that appears to span at least two decades. Three of the women worked for Batali in some capacity during their careers. One former employee alleges that over the course of two years, he repeatedly grabbed her from behind and held her tightly against his body. Another former employee alleges that he groped her and that, in a separate incident, he compelled her to straddle him; another alleges that he grabbed her breasts at a party, though she no longer worked for him at the time. The woman whose allegations are described above has never worked for Batali, though she works in the restaurant industry.</p>
<p id="lboeZ5">Batali was reprimanded for inappropriate behavior in the workplace as recently as two months ago. According to a spokesperson for Batali & Bastianich Hospitality Group — the restaurant-management services company that provides support to around 24 restaurants owned by, among others, Batali and Joe Bastianich — in October 2017, a B&B restaurant employee officially reported inappropriate behavior by Batali to the company. It was the first formal complaint about Batali, who was reprimanded and required to undergo training, according to the company.</p>
<p id="J2dYBu">In a statement to Eater, Batali said that he is stepping away from the day-to-day operations of his businesses for an unspecified period of time. ABC, where Batali has co-hosted the daytime show <em>The Chew</em> since 2011, has also asked the chef to step away from the show “while we review the allegations that have just recently come to our attention,” a spokesperson said.</p>
<p id="2M8reL">Batali did not deny all the allegations, saying that they “match up” with ways he has behaved. </p>
<p id="z7xgJC">“I apologize to the people I have mistreated and hurt. Although the identities of most of the individuals mentioned in these stories have not been revealed to me, much of the behavior described does, in fact, match up with ways I have acted. That behavior 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.</p>
<p id="BfEFOZ">“I have work to do to try to regain the trust of those I have hurt and disappointed. For this reason, I am going to step away from day-to-day operations of my businesses. We built these restaurants so that our guests could have fun and indulge, but I took that too far in my own behavior. I won’t make that mistake again. I want any place I am associated with to feel comfortable and safe for the people who work or dine there.</p>
<p id="OLPUJ8">"I know my actions have disappointed many people. The successes I have enjoyed are owned by everyone on my team. The failures are mine alone. To the people who have been at my side during this time — my family, my partners, my employees, my friends, my fans — I am grateful for your support and hopeful that I can regain your respect and trust. I will spend the next period of time trying to do that.”</p>
<p id="ozFbDM">Batali remains an owner of his individual restaurants, according to the B&B spokesperson. In a statement to Eater, B&B said that while the company has had sexual harassment training and policies for more than 10 years, it will now also enlist an independent, outside corporate investigations firm for any staffers wishing to make claims against owners of the restaurants. </p>
<p id="1bbXGv">“We take these allegations very seriously. We pride ourselves on being a workplace for our employees where they can grow and deliver great service with equal opportunity and free from any discrimination. We have strong policies and practices in place that address sexual harassment. We train employees in these policies and we enforce them, up to and including termination,” B&B’s statement reads in part. “Mr. Batali and we have agreed that he will step away from the company’s operations, including the restaurants, and has already done so.”</p>
<p id="rAbqGA">Joe Bastianich said in a statement, “Right now, I’m just focused on ensuring that our more than 1,000 employees continue to have a safe and positive work environment.” An ABC spokesperson said in a statement, “ABC takes matters like this very seriously as we are committed to a safe work environment. While we are unaware of any type of inappropriate behavior involving him and anyone affiliated with the show, we will swiftly address any alleged violations of our standards of conduct.”</p>
<p id="sHmSNY">Although B&B <a href="https://ny.eater.com/2017/5/19/15662844/batali-discrimination-lawsuit-gay-slurs">has been sued</a> for sexual harassment before, Batali’s own alleged inappropriate sexual misconduct has not previously been the subject of a lawsuit. Each of the women who spoke to Eater asked to remain anonymous in part for fear of retaliation — Batali, a celebrated and powerful chef, holds enormous sway in the restaurant world and beyond. Eater is granting them anonymity but has corroborated their stories with friends, family members, or colleagues who were informed of the incidents, as well as with publicly available information.</p>
<p id="WbQWCq">Many of the people who spoke with Eater said they were afraid of retribution for speaking out. A woman who claims she was inappropriately touched while she worked for Batali in the late ’90s told Eater, “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.” </p>
<p id="mx3BWi">The multiple accusations of inappropriate touching and other misconduct emerged from an Eater investigation that included interviews with dozens of industry professionals who have had interactions with the chef, including nearly three dozen current and former Batali employees. </p>
<hr class="p-entry-hr" id="xPWFZm">
<p id="MKRa26"><strong>Batali, who became a star</strong> as the host of one of Food Network’s first hit TV shows, <em>Molto Mario</em>, has risen to the very top of the restaurant industry since starting out <a href="https://www.eater.com/2017/6/22/15852496/mario-batali-stuff-yer-face-edison-new-jersey">in a New Jersey sandwich shop</a> in the early ’80s as a college student. Along with Joe Bastianich and Lidia Bastianich, he is the force behind Batali & Bastianich Hospitality Group, which notably includes the New York City restaurants Del Posto and Babbo, each of which holds one Michelin star. Five years ago, <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2012/08/29/dining/eataly-exceeds-revenue-predictions.html">B&B reported more than $250 million</a> in annual revenue. Batali is also a minority shareholder in the Italian-market chain Eataly USA, which has six locations across the country.</p>
<p id="FTai0K">Outside of his restaurants, Batali is the author of <a href="http://www.mariobatali.com/books-products/">numerous cookbooks</a>, the face of nationally distributed <a href="http://www.mariobatali.com/books-products/">jarred pasta sauces</a> and other kitchen products, and the jolly, orange-Crocs-wearing co-host of ABC’s daytime talk and cooking show <a href="http://abc.go.com/shows/the-chew"><em>The Chew</em></a>. He also founded <a href="http://www.mariobatalifoundation.org/foundation/">a child education and empowerment nonprofit</a> and <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6R_DVWfTifU&feature=youtu.be">is active in (RED</a>), the nonprofit founded by celebrities Bono and Bobby Shriver. Additionally, Batali owns a small percentage of Ken Friedman and April Bloomfield’s landmark gastropub, The Spotted Pig. People Eater spoke to within the industry often describe him as a friendly, charming, professional, supportive, and frequently generous person. </p>
<p id="c67QCY">But his affable persona belies another, more crude reputation, according to dozens of interviews. Batali’s lewdness, his crass way of speaking about women, and his focus on women’s bodies have been well known within certain circles in the restaurant world, according to people who spoke with Eater.</p>
<p id="rjdJ3X">A former server at Pó, the <a href="https://ny.eater.com/2017/4/27/15442026/po-closed-west-village-nyc">now-shuttered West Village restaurant</a> where Batali built his reputation throughout the ’90s, alleges that repeated physical harassment took place while Batali was the chef.</p>
<p id="dLtjV5">Steve Crane, who co-owned Pó with Batali until the chef decamped to start his future empire, confirmed that he was told by multiple staff members of ongoing inappropriate behavior by Batali. Though Crane does not recall any specific details, and was not in the kitchen to personally witness the incidents, he said that he was told by several female staffers that Batali had grabbed them from behind, consistently made a variety of sexual comments, and engaged in behavior like snapping bra straps. “I made it very clear to him that he needed to stop, but I feel ashamed that this happened at Pó, and my staff endured this behavior,” he said. Crane said that because they were partners in the restaurant, he ultimately did not have the power to fire Batali. (Batali, through a spokesperson, denied that Crane ever confronted him.) </p>
<p id="clESvD">The former server alleges that on multiple occasions Batali grabbed her from behind “like a linebacker, like a disgusting bear hug,” and pressed her body against his. In hours of interviews with Eater, she described nearly two years of inappropriate behavior. The grabbing would often occur while they were alone in a cramped passageway between the dining room and the kitchen, she alleged. “He would breathe on me — and sometimes take a deep inhale, like he was smelling me,” she recalled. </p>
<p id="0ABBJY">When Crane asked Batali to stop, Batali would become more aggressive, the server alleged; some female staff eventually started asking Crane to not confront Batali with their complaints, she added. (Crane confirmed that after some women would complain, they would ask him not to confront Batali because he would only be more aggressive toward them.) </p>
<p id="CD2qSB">Restaurant culture in the ’90s was generally known for being “bawdy,” and sexual relationships between staff weren’t uncommon, the former server said, but Batali’s behavior was more about degradation than good humor, she alleges: "This wasn't just some dirty jokes, this was mean, this was about asserting power. He is awful."</p>
<p id="xVZ6lW">Lee McGrath, a chef who joined Pó a few years after Batali left as chef, told Eater that when he was hired, Crane warned him, “Don’t even think about messing with the waitresses — they’ve been through hell with Mario.” </p>
<p id="Ex3azt">A different woman, who worked for Batali in the late ’90s, alleges that he touched her inappropriately on two different occasions. The first incident allegedly took place soon after she started her job. One day, while she was in the dining room of the restaurant, she said, Batali came up behind her, catching her unaware, and “put his hand on half of my butt and he squeezed it.” She recalled later gently confronting Batali, who responded, “What are you, a lesbian?” </p>
<p id="VxQSZD">In a second incident that took place about three years later, she alleges that while working next to Batali in a small, boxed-in space, he was seated in such a way that he blocked her exit. When she had to get up, he refused to move — leaving her no choice but to straddle him in order to leave the space. According to the woman, she told Batali that she needed to go to the bathroom. Batali, who was reclining with his legs propped up, allegedly told her, “If you want to get up, you’re going to have to climb over me.” When she returned, he was still seated with his legs propped up, again refusing to move; she had to straddle him a second time, she alleges. “It was disappointing, again, to have that happen. And, again, humiliating,” she said.</p>
<p id="uoyLq9">Yet another woman who worked for Batali for about a year in the late aughts alleges that he lunged at her and grabbed her breasts during an industry party in 2011, a few years after she stopped working for him. At the party, she recalled that Batali appeared drunk, and she became concerned for his safety when she spotted him on a balcony standing slumped over. “When I noticed that he looked wobbly, my instinct was concern,” she said. When she walked over and tapped him on the shoulder, “he sprung up, like he was startled,” and with his eyes wide open. Then, immediately, “he lifted his arms straight up and grabbed both of my breasts,” she said. “I took a step back and I pushed him away, and when I did that, I remember he said, ‘Oh, come on.’” </p>
<p id="lXzveb">“In that moment I realized, ‘I’m just a body [to him],’” she said of the experience. Though at the time, she no longer worked for Batali, she had worked for him a few years prior and said she believed they shared some mutual respect. “When I’ve seen him over the years, I don’t have a sense that he even remembers,” she said, though she added, “I haven’t spoken to him about it.” </p>
<p id="hdlkVM">The chef who alleged being groped at an industry party in New Orleans about 10 years ago, as described earlier, said she remains appalled by his behavior. “He gets wasted, he’s arrogant, and he acts like he’s God’s gift to women,” she said. “This is still your industry, you’re a leader in this industry — if you behave this way, what kind of example are you setting?” </p>
<hr class="p-entry-hr" id="6R9pJu">
<p id="LB2V5J"><strong>In addition to the allegations </strong>of improper physical contact, several sources said that Batali has a reputation for inappropriately using sexual innuendo in workplace conversation. Multiple people who work at or have worked at Batali restaurants from the early ’90s to now described behavior that ranges from mild creepiness to more severe misconduct, both in interviews with Eater and in publicly available documents.</p>
<p id="4rPIyd">The woman who was allegedly groped by Batali on the balcony told Eater, “I remember not being fully surprised that it happened because I’d seen him drunk and flirtatious with women. And that flirting came in the form of talking and sitting really close. I’d never witnessed anything during work hours; it was always post-work.” </p>
<p id="2U5ihJ">But according to other interviews, his inappropriate behavior happened at work, too. McGrath, the Pó chef who started about a year after Batali left, said that he eventually understood why he was given the warning to not harass the female waitstaff, as two servers, including one who spoke with Eater, began to relay accounts of Batali’s misconduct. “It’s like they had PTSD,” he said. McGrath remembers being told that there was a lot of “hugging from behind” and that Batali would ask about their sex lives, what color underwear they wore, and other inappropriate questions.</p>
<p id="V2anVS">Another former female Pó staffer, who worked at the restaurant earlier than the woman mentioned above, said that Batali could be generally “nasty” and a “bully” to both men and women. He was “constantly making overtly sexual and inappropriate” comments, she alleges. Though she doesn’t remember physical touching, she said that she’s never worked for someone more inappropriate than Batali. At one point, she wanted to take out an ad in the paper to say what “an awful person he was” because she thought it was unfair that he was getting so many accolades considering how terribly he treated people, she said. “Mario is smart and he’s talented, but I don’t think that gives you the right to be disgusting,” she said.</p>
<p id="GRihfQ">The employee who Batali allegedly groped shortly after she was hired said that she has witnessed “a lot of gray-area affection with women,” like “a lot of subliminal dissection of women’s bodies, telling women their asses looked good, remarking on boobs.” </p>
<p id="AvGZBD">The chef’s boorish side has also been previously documented in the media. In the 2006 book <em>Heat</em>, the writer Bill Buford provides a glimpse at the earlier years of Babbo and Batali’s tenure on the Food Network, noting crass behavior with two female prep chefs, as well as an assistant and a set manager. In one incident detailed in the book, during a food- and wine-filled evening at Batali’s Greenwich Village trattoria Lupa Osteria Romana, Buford writes that Batali said to a female server: “It’s not fair I have this view all to myself when you bend over. For dessert, would you take off your blouse for the others?”</p>
<p id="GyyiXd">A manager at a B&B restaurant said that while he loves working for Batali — who has been good to the kitchen staff and very professional with both male and female chefs, in his experience — he has seen Batali treat women outside of the kitchen crudely, especially while intoxicated. Eater granted him anonymity, as he is still employed by the company and fears losing his job. “I really like the guy, and every sober interaction has been very professional, but, yeah, he’s gross,” the manager said. </p>
<p id="XwvU6q">“He was always friendly, but it was in this ‘Oh, you’re a pretty little girl’ kind of way,” Gabriela Acero, a former maitre d’ and floor manager who worked at Batali’s Greenwich Village restaurant Otto from 2012 to 2014, said. “I remember him complimenting my dress, saying something like ‘Oh, don’t you look like the blossoming bosom of spring.’ Even then I was like, ‘Oh, Jesus.’” </p>
<hr class="p-entry-hr" id="pTftYo">
<p id="3C2Mme"><strong>Batali’s reputation </strong>has<strong> </strong>left some of the women who’d benefited from his power and influence with mixed feelings about their relationship with him. He’s championed the careers of numerous women; his kitchen at Del Posto is led by a female executive chef and executive pastry chef. (“It’s not because they have a vagina,” he said of the crew while <a href="https://pagesix.com/2017/10/26/mario-batalis-fanciest-restaurant-has-an-all-women-kitchen/?_ga=2.109423301.1322111683.1509105208-1686631105.1502883425">at the Fast Company Innovation Festival in October</a>. “It’s because they’re the smartest people for the job.”)</p>
<p id="11f5B1">“I feel very complicated feelings toward him,” the former employee who described two encounters with Batali said. “In some ways, he was very supportive and he used his power and influence to connect me.” </p>
<p id="G67qnK">The former employee who alleged having her breasts grabbed described working for Batali as frequently professional. “I definitely felt way more reverential about him then than I do now,” she said. </p>
<p id="TbZdWk">These allegations come as <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2017/11/10/us/men-accused-sexual-misconduct-weinstein.html">dozens of prominent and powerful men</a> have been toppled by accusations of sexual harassment and inappropriate conduct. In the restaurant industry — notorious for its <a href="https://www.eater.com/2017/11/30/16687914/toxic-masculinity-restaurants">boys-club culture</a> — chef <a href="https://www.eater.com/2017/10/23/16524266/john-besh-steps-down-sexual-harassment">John Besh was brought down</a> by <a href="http://www.nola.com/business/index.ssf/2017/10/john_besh_restaurants_fostered.html">allegations of rampant sexual harassment</a> in his restaurants, and former Jean-Georges pastry chef <a href="https://mic.com/articles/186356/4-former-employees-accuse-celebrity-chef-johnny-iuzzini-of-sexual-harassment-and-abuse#.XUffoeY77">Johnny Iuzzini has been accused</a> of sexual harassment by four women. </p>
<p class="c-end-para" id="slyS3p">“I think it says so much about how we just accept and move on, and I think for a long time, I just thought, ‘Well, he didn’t rape me,’” said the woman who alleged being grabbed at an industry party in 2011. “But I remember it vividly, it impacted me, and I feel uneasy recalling it. I just feel this major sense that I’m not the only one. I feel really grateful for the cultural reckoning that’s happening.”</p>
<p id="nnENde"></p>
<p id="BAXLoS"><em>A</em><em>nyone</em><em> with information about alleged misconduct in the restaurant world can contact Eater at tips@eater.com or </em><a href="https://www.eater.com/2017/11/1/16572850/send-secure-tips-to-eater"><em>via these secure methods</em></a><em>. </em></p>
<p id="slS9EN"><small><em>Additional reporting by Amanda Kludt</em></small><br><small><em>Edit</em></small><small><em>ed</em></small><small><em> by Serena Dai and Matt Buchanan</em></small><br><small><em>Fact check</em></small><small><em>ed</em></small><small><em> by Jenny Hendrix</em></small><br><small><em>Photo illustration by </em></small><a href="http://www.withlovefrombrittany.com/"><small><em>Brittany Holloway-Brown</em></small></a><small><em>; photos by</em></small><small> </small><a href="https://go.redirectingat.com?id=66960X1516589&xs=1&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.gettyimages.com%2Flicense%2F670377072&referrer=eater.com&sref=https%3A%2F%2Fny.eater.com%2F2017%2F12%2F11%2F16759540%2Fmario-batali-sexual-misconduct-allegations" rel="sponsored nofollow noopener" target="_blank"><small><em>Jamie McCarthy / Getty</em></small></a><small><em> and </em></small><a href="https://go.redirectingat.com?id=66960X1516589&xs=1&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.gettyimages.com%2Flicense%2F672160711&referrer=eater.com&sref=https%3A%2F%2Fny.eater.com%2F2017%2F12%2F11%2F16759540%2Fmario-batali-sexual-misconduct-allegations" rel="sponsored nofollow noopener" target="_blank"><small><em>Paco Navarro / Getty</em></small></a></p>
https://ny.eater.com/2017/12/11/16759540/mario-batali-sexual-misconduct-allegationsIrene PlagianosKitty Greenwald2017-11-29T15:24:53-05:002017-11-29T15:24:53-05:00Mario Batali Hit With Another Wage Lawsuit at Babbo
<figure>
<img alt="WITNESS 25th Anniversary Gala" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/gl04_wLQoboHCkAI8PYGPukJhdg=/0x43:2000x1543/1310x983/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/57793033/682075902.jpg.0.jpg" />
<figcaption>Mario Batali was hit with another wage lawsuit | Photo by Dia Dipasupil/Getty Images</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>A former busser claims he didn’t get paid the full minimum wage</p> <p id="G5kWZb"><strong>Mario Batali</strong> and his upscale Italian restaurant <strong>Babbo</strong> is being sued over alleged wage violations by dogged restaurant world attorney Maimon Kirschenbaum — <a href="https://ny.eater.com/2012/3/7/6607651/mario-batali-settles-5-million-class-action-lawsuit">again</a>.</p>
<p id="WuYLjw">Former busser Octavio Quinones, who worked at the Greenwich Village restaurant from early 2016 to October 2017, claims he was shortchanged overtime pay and his full minimum wage earnings, according to a federal lawsuit. He is seeking to make it a class action lawsuit and is asking for attorney fees and unspecified damages for unpaid compensation.</p>
<p id="MKpkQq">The accusations follow another wage lawsuit against Babbo and Batali, when Kirschenbaum’s firm reached a <a href="https://ny.eater.com/2012/3/7/6607651/mario-batali-settles-5-million-class-action-lawsuit">$5 million settlement with Batali in a class action settlement</a> in 2012.</p>
<p id="9sTVXd">Like with the previous labor lawsuit, Quinones claims that management improperly withheld tips, but the allegations here focus more on full minimum wage payment. The former busser claims he was unfairly paid the tipped minimum of $7.50 an hour, saying he was not informed that the full minimum wage was $11 and that the restaurant intended to take a $3.50 “tip credit” against his wage, according to the suit.</p>
<p id="w8VdSh">He also claims that he spent more than 20 percent of his time doing “non-tipped side-work” such as cleaning the floors and folding napkins before the restaurant opened, and thus should have been paid an $11 minimum wage. </p>
<p id="g1x03x">Beyond the wage issue, Quinones claims he was unfairly let go by a manager, who initially told him he could miss a shift for his brother’s wedding, then fired him in October for taking the time off, according to the suit.</p>
<p id="ogydvI">In 2010, Kirschenbaum’s firm sued Babbo, Batali, business partner <strong>Joe Bastianich</strong>, and their company Pasta Resources for illegally skimming tips. By 2012, people from restaurants across the NYC Batali empire had joined in the class action lawsuit, and Batali and the crew <a href="https://ny.eater.com/2012/3/7/6607651/mario-batali-settles-5-million-class-action-lawsuit">settled it for $5.25 million</a>. Batali also <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10000872396390444358804578016834258551610">paid an additional $1.5 million to settle unfair wage claims from service workers at his Del Posto</a>, in a separate suit with other attorneys at the helm, in 2012. </p>
<p id="6LaEuf">Babbo and Batali <a href="https://ny.eater.com/2017/5/19/15662844/batali-discrimination-lawsuit-gay-slurs">are also being sued for discrimination</a>, with a former pastry chef claiming managers at the restaurant used homophobic and anti-Mexican slurs.</p>
<p id="XFxZaE">Kirschenbaum has sued numerous other high-profile chefs and restaurants for wage issues, including Nobu and Le Bernadin. He did not immediately return a request for comment.</p>
<p id="5kexDG">Carolyn Richmond, a lawyer for Batali and Bastianich, said they believe the suit “has no merit.” “Babbo respects the rights of its current and former employees to seek administrative or judicial redress whenever and wherever they see necessary,” Richmond said in an email. “However, the restaurant strongly believes that they have been in compliance with all federal and New York wage and hour laws, and continue to work very hard to educate their employees — staff and managers — on the applicable rules and regulations in place in the workplace.”</p>
<div id="qVDtck">
<p style=" margin: 12px auto 6px auto; font-family: Helvetica,Arial,Sans-serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 14px; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; -x-system-font: none; display: block;"> <a title="View Babbo wage lawsuit 2017 on Scribd" href="https://go.redirectingat.com?id=66960X1516589&xs=1&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.scribd.com%2Fdocument%2F365882635%2FBabbo-wage-lawsuit-2017%23from_embed&referrer=eater.com&sref=https%3A%2F%2Fny.eater.com%2F2017%2F11%2F29%2F16716398%2Fmario-batali-wage-lawsuit-babbo-nyc" style="text-decoration: underline;" rel="sponsored nofollow noopener" target="_blank">Babbo wage lawsuit 2017</a> by <a title="View Eater NY's profile on Scribd" href="https://go.redirectingat.com?id=66960X1516589&xs=1&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.scribd.com%2Fuser%2F300916977%2FEater-NY%23from_embed&referrer=eater.com&sref=https%3A%2F%2Fny.eater.com%2F2017%2F11%2F29%2F16716398%2Fmario-batali-wage-lawsuit-babbo-nyc" style="text-decoration: underline;" rel="sponsored nofollow noopener" target="_blank">Eater NY</a> on Scribd</p>
<iframe class="scribd_iframe_embed" title="Babbo wage lawsuit 2017" src="https://www.scribd.com/embeds/365882635/content?start_page=1&view_mode=scroll&access_key=key-rvCrqEwvUxLshziwoV3L&show_recommendations=true" data-auto-height="false" data-aspect-ratio="0.7729220222793488" scrolling="no" id="doc_36127" width="100%" height="600" frameborder="0"></iframe>
</div>
<aside id="6VrGrh"><div data-anthem-component="newsletter" data-anthem-component-data='{"slug":"ny-eater"}'></div></aside><p id="ZGMzIo"></p>
<p id="Nd0e06"></p>
https://ny.eater.com/2017/11/29/16716398/mario-batali-wage-lawsuit-babbo-nycIrene Plagianos