8 Celebrity Chef Scandals - A Few May Shock You

Some forgotten/underreported scandals, feuds, and details you may not have known

1. Jamie Oliver and Gordon Ramsey Feud

Cloud Visual / Via Unsplash

This feud went on for a number of years with Ramsey calling Oliver fat and insinuating that Oliver lacked talent and consistently undercutting Oliver's achievements. Things came to head when Oliver made a quip about having more children than Ramsey and his wife Tana. Tana had recently miscarried and Ramsey described Tana being "mortified" about the situation. Oliver has since expressed remorse and the feud seems to have been squashed.

2. Guy Fieri's Homophobic Comments

Kelly Sikkema / Via Unsplash

David Page, a producer of Fieri's show Diners, Drive ins, and Dives reported in 2011 that after meeting business partners of one of the restaurants featured on the show, Fieri determined that he thought the business partners were also romantic partners. He is reported to have freaked out and made producers promise to let him know if he was going to be interviewing anyone they thought might be gay because "those people freak [him] out."

3. Bobby Flay Sued by Former Employees

Tingey Injury Law Firm / Via Unsplash

In 2009 Bobby Flay's restaurant Bar Americain was sued by 3 former servers. Five of Flay's restaurants including Bar Americain were listed as defendants in the suit. Flay was accused of cheating employees out of tips and overtime as well as not reimbursing employees for purchase and laundering of their own uniforms. Flay settled for $800,000

4. Mario Batali Wage Garnishing and Sexual Misconduct

Wesley Tingey / Via Unsplash

Starting in 2010 Mario Batali was accused of skimming tips and garnishing wages unfairly. Batali finally settled in 2012 and agreed to pay $5.25 million. Unfortunately that was the tip of the iceberg for Batali who was then accused of inappropriate touching by four women. Batali did not deny claims that spanned across 20 years and apologized for his behavior. NYPD launched a criminal investigation against Batali in May of 2018 but ceased the investigation was closed January 2019, according to CNN only one case fell within the Statute of Limitations in the state of New York and that NYPD failed to find probable cause.

5. Anne Burrell Discrimination Claims

Michael Browning / Via unsplash.com

Eater reported in 2009 that Anne Burrell was the subject of a lawsuit against Centro Vinoteca where Burrell worked. The claims include Burrell berating and harassing female staff using derogatory terms and making sexual accusations. Burrell is quoted in one plaintiff's statement as calling the plaintiff a "dumb whore and an idiot" and saying that Burrell stated she wanted to "get rid of her." The case was settled but the details of that settlement have not been made public. Anne Burrell has never commented on the validity of these claims.

6. John Besh Accused of Harassment by 25 Employees

Hudson Hintze / Via Unsplash

The employees claimed that harassment was the norm, according to Mashed. Besh was subsequently edited out of episodes of Iron Chef Showdown and Top Chef.

7. Geoffery Zakarian's Personal Bankruptcy

Josh Appel / Via Unsplash

Shortly after winning Iron Chef: Super Chefs, Zakarian was forced to file personal bankruptcy in 2011 to settle a class action lawsuit initiated by his employees at his, now closed, restaurant Country who allege they were denied overtime pay and their pay had been docked unfairly. Zakarian denies these claims but settled because the cost of fighting the lawsuit would be "too much for his wallet."

8. Rachael Ray Nutrish Line Spoiled with Herbicide

Jovana Askrabic / Via Unsplash

It was alleged that Rachael Ray's pet food line was tainted with the same herbicide that is found in Round Up in a $5 million lawsuit against the brand. Though Ray is not named in the lawsuit and claimed she was feeding her own dog from her Nutrish Line. The lawsuit has since been dismissed but many retailers claim they will still be monitoring the situation after poor customer reviews and complaints have flooded in.