Top French chef quits restaurant after naked ‘hazing’ of kitchen staff
A French chef and rising star of the country’s culinary scene has been forced to quit his luxury restaurant after a rite-of-passage ritual reportedly occurred in his kitchen, where a new member of staff was allegedly tied naked to a chair and stuffed with fruit and vegetables.
Aurélien Largeau was said to have been filmed at a “hazing” ceremony of a young commis at the historic Hôtel du Palais Biarritz in south-west France where he had run his Michelin-starred fine-dining restaurant La Table d’Aurélien Largeau, according to the local newspaper Sud Ouest.
The commis, or junior member of the kitchen staff, was claimed to have been initiated to the kitchens on Dec 2 by being bound naked to a chair with an apple in his mouth and a carrot in another part of his body as the rest of the “kitchen brigade” looked on.
When one member of the kitchen staff tried to intervene, she was thrown out of the kitchen, according to Sud Ouest, which interviewed several hotel employees.
In a statement to the French news TV channel BFMTV on Thursday, Mr Largeau denounced what he called “defamatory and false comments” and called the allegations a “monstrous attack” on his “honour” and his “formidable teams”.
But as of last week, Mr Largeau is no longer associated with the restaurant, which said it was aware of a “worrying incident”.
After the video was posted online, images eventually reached hotel management, who ordered employees to delete them and tasked their IT department with erasing all online traces of the incident.
According to Sud Ouest, the victim did not file a complaint and reportedly said that he “asked to be hazed” but outraged employees called out Mr Largeau, 31, for not intervening.
“This is an outburst of a sexual nature, in the workplace, that the boss should have interrupted,” an unnamed employee told the newspaper.
A native of La Rochelle, Mr Largeau started his career at the Biarritz hotel as a commis, before working at other restaurants including the Michelin-starred establishments La Maison d’à Côté and La Table d’à Côté under Christophe Hay, as the latter restaurant earned its first Michelin star.
Not long after, in 2019, he was named a “Young Talent” by the French restaurant guide Gault&Millau. The following year, he moved full circle back to the Hôtel du Palais, and within a year earned the highest rating of three chefs’ hats from the same guide.
His signature dish is blue lobster grilled with pine needles. A glowing review from Gilles Pudlowski, one of France’s most influential food critics, in June this year described the dish as “magnificent” and said that Mr Largeau’s cooking alone merits a trip to Biarritz.
On social media, an excerpt from an interview he gave to Gault&Millau last year is also making the rounds for his reference to the leadership lessons he learnt from his chef mentor Hay.
“He offered me my first job as a chef and made me aware of the demands of gourmet cuisine, products and people management.”
Police have opened a preliminary investigation for sexual assault and violence.
The Hôtel du Palais, which is under the management of the Hyatt group, was built by Napoleon III as a summer residence for his wife, Empress Eugenie, in 1854 and is often described as the jewel of Biarritz.
Throughout history it has attracted the international elite, including Ernest Hemingway, Frank Sinatra and British royalty such as Queen Victoria, King Edward VII and the Duke of Connaught. Rooms at the five-star luxury resort cost on average €400 (£348) a night.
In a statement to French television, a spokesman for the Hôtel du Palais confirmed that they were aware of a “worrying incident that took place on the premises of the hotel”.
They added: “This incident does not reflect the values that we all defend, an investigation was carried out and the appropriate decisions were taken.”
The incident also throws light on abusive kitchen culture in France. While French law bans hazing, the practice remains a rite of passage in some kitchens to test junior staff members.
In recent years, the restaurant industry has seen campaigns against violence in the kitchens akin to MeToo called “Hands off my kitchen hand” and “Respect your kitchen”.
