A French star chef has abruptly quit his luxury hotel job after a kitchen staffer was reportedly tied up naked and humiliated, a hotel chain said on Thursday.
The Bayonne Public Prosecutor’s Office has opened a preliminary investigation into charges of sexual assault and violence, prosecutor Jerome Bourrier said.
Aurelien Largeau, 31, who has denied wrongdoing, has a coveted Michelin star to his name and ran the restaurant of the prestigious Hotel du Palais in Biarritz, southwestern France, until his sudden departure last week.
Photo: AFP
A spokeswoman for hotel owners Hyatt said that management had been informed of a “troubling incident,” footage of which had been shared online.
She gave no details of what was on the images, but regional daily Sud Ouest reported that they showed an initiation ritual in the hotel kitchen.
A kitchen hand was tied to a chair naked for hours with an apple in his mouth and a carrot in his anus with all the chefs — known as the kitchen brigade — looking on, including Largeau.
The footage has since been removed from the Internet.
The “humiliating” incident took place “under the authority, and in the presence, of chef Aurelien Largeau,” Sud Ouest reported.
Largeau told France Bleu Pays Basque radio that he “strongly” denied the allegations that he called “defamatory and untruthful,” and that he was preparing his defense with his lawyers.
“This incident does not reflect the values that we defend,” the Hyatt spokeswoman said. “We have undertaken an investigation and taken the appropriate decisions. The safety, health and well-being of our colleagues, clients and partners are absolute priorities for us.”
The Hotel du Palais is a five-star hotel on the seafront in Biarritz, with an average price per night of more than 400 euros (US$443).
Officials at Biarritz City Hall, a principal shareholder in the Socomix company which owns the hotel building, were unavailable for comment.
“We found out about it from the press,” said Patrick Destizon, an opposition town councilor and one of Socomix’s directors.
He said the hotel’s management did not mention “this episode” at a board meeting last week.
Hazing is banned under French law, but reports say the practice still occurs in French restaurants. It is sometimes defended as a test of whether junior staff can handle the pressures of the job.
A number of cooking professionals have started campaigns against violence in kitchens, including one called “Hands off my Kitchen Hand” and another “Respect your Kitchen.”
Seven people sustained mostly minor injuries in an airplane fire in South Korea, authorities said yesterday, with local media suggesting the blaze might have been caused by a portable battery stored in the overhead bin. The Air Busan plane, an Airbus A321, was set to fly to Hong Kong from Gimhae International Airport in southeastern Busan, but caught fire in the rear section on Tuesday night, the South Korean Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport said. A total of 169 passengers and seven flight attendants and staff were evacuated down inflatable slides, it said. Authorities initially reported three injuries, but revised the number
‘BALD-FACED LIE’: The woman is accused of administering non-prescribed drugs to the one-year-old and filmed the toddler’s distress to solicit donations online A social media influencer accused of filming the torture of her baby to gain money allegedly manufactured symptoms causing the toddler to have brain surgery, a magistrate has heard. The 34-year-old Queensland woman is charged with torturing an infant and posting videos of the little girl online to build a social media following and solicit donations. A decision on her bail application in a Brisbane court was yesterday postponed after the magistrate opted to take more time before making a decision in an effort “not to be overwhelmed” by the nature of allegations “so offensive to right-thinking people.” The Sunshine Coast woman —
BORDER SERVICES: With the US-funded International Rescue Committee telling clinics to shut by tomorrow, Burmese refugees face sudden discharge from Thai hospitals Healthcare centers serving tens of thousands of refugees on the Thai-Myanmar border have been ordered shut after US President Donald Trump froze most foreign aid last week, forcing Thai officials to transport the sickest patients to other facilities. The International Rescue Committee (IRC), which funds the clinics with US support, told the facilities to shut by tomorrow, a local official and two camp committee members said. The IRC did not respond to a request for comment. Trump last week paused development assistance from the US Agency for International Development for 90 days to assess compatibility with his “America First” policy. The freeze has thrown
TESTING BAN: Satellite photos show a facility in the Chinese city of Mianyang that could aid nuclear weapons design and power generation, a US researcher said China appears to be building a large laser-ignited fusion research center in the southwestern city of Mianyang, experts at two analytical organizations said, a development that could aid nuclear weapons design and work exploring power generation. Satellite photos show four outlying “arms” that would house laser bays, and a central experiment bay that would hold a target chamber containing hydrogen isotopes the powerful lasers would fuse together, producing energy, said Decker Eveleth, a researcher at US-based independent research organization CNA Corp. It is a similar layout to the US$3.5 billion US National Ignition Facility (NIF) in northern California, which in 2022 generated
RSS