French chef quits after kitchen hand ‘tied bare to chair for hours’
- Aurelien Largeau ran restaurant at Hotel du Palais in Biarritz till final week
A French star chef has stop his luxurious resort job after an alleged hazing ritual by which a kitchen hand was reportedly tied bare to a chair for hours with an apple in his mouth and a carrot in his rear.
Aurelien Largeau, 31, who has a coveted Michelin star to his identify, ran the restaurant of the celebrated Hotel du Palais in Biarritz, southwestern France, till final week when he left.
A spokesman for resort house owners Hyatt informed AFP that the administration had been knowledgeable of a ‘troubling incident’, footage of which had been shared on-line.
She gave no particulars of what’s on the photographs however regional each day Sud Ouest reported that they present an initiation ritual within the resort kitchen.
A kitchen hand was allegedly tied to a chair bare for hours with an apple in his mouth and a carrot in his anus with the cooks – referred to as the kitchen brigade – trying on, allegedly together with Largeau, in line with AFP.
Aurelien Largeau in his chef outfit. Largeau, 31, who has a coveted Michelin star to his identify, ran the restaurant of the celebrated Hotel du Palais in Biarritz, southwestern France, till final week when he left
The Hotel du Palais. The five-star resort on the seafront in Biarritz has a median worth per evening of over 400 euros (£348)
The footage has since been faraway from the web.
The ‘humiliating’ incident occurred ‘below the authority, and within the presence of, chef Aurelien Largeau’, Sud Ouest mentioned.
Hyatt mentioned in a press release: ‘The Management Team at Hôtel du Palais has concluded an investigation that was launched instantly following regarding allegations and imagery relating to an incident within the premises of the resort.
‘The incident didn’t mirror the robust values all of us stand for, and the suitable choices have now been taken.
‘The safety, wellness and wellbeing of our colleagues, friends and companions are at all times our utmost priorities. Due to our firm coverage and to respect the privateness of everybody concerned we can’t remark any additional.’
The five-star resort on the seafront in Biarritz has a median worth per evening of over 400 euros (£348).
Hazing, a humiliating initiation course of, is banned below French legislation, however studies say the apply nonetheless happens in French eating places. It is typically defended as a check of whether or not junior employees can deal with the pressures of the job.
Quite a lot of cooking professionals have began campaigns in opposition to violence in kitchens lately, together with one known as ‘Hands off my Kitchen Hand’ and one other ‘Respect your Kitchen’.
Largeau was recruited in March 2020, Sud Ouest reported.
A number of months after the reopening of the Hotel du Palais in 2021, he was awarded a Michelin star, then the title of ‘Great of Tomorrow’ by Gault & Millau, the publication reported.
