Mario Batali gives up restaurants more than year after sexual misconduct claims
- Celebrity chef Mario Batali no longer has any role in Batali & Bastianch Hospitality Group
- Several women had accused him of sexual harassment and assault
- Batali also sold his stake in the rapidly expanding Italian food-hall chain Eataly
The two-decade partnership between celebrity chef Mario Batali and the Bastianich family of restaurateurs has officially unraveled, more than a year multiple women accused Batali of sexual harassment and assault.
"Mario is now fully divested from our businesses. This week, we acquired all of his interests in our restaurants," Tanya Bastianich Manuali and her brother, Joe Bastianich, wrote Wednesday in a memo to employees and emailed to CBS MoneyWatch.
Manuali will run day-to-day operations at the still-to-be-named company that will replace Batali & Bastianich Hospitality Group, the two said in their announcement.
Batali "will no longer profit from the restaurants in any way, shape or form," Tanya Bastianich Manuali told The New York Times, which first reported the breakup.
Batali & Bastianch Hospitality Group runs 20 restaurants in a half-dozen cities, according to its website.
Batali also sold his stake in the rapidly expanding Italian food-hall chain Eataly, the Times reported.
New York City police investigated reports including by one woman who told CBS "60 Minutes" that the chef sexually assaulted her in 2005 at the Spotted Pig restaurant in Manhattan.
The online food publication Eater in December 2017 reported sexual harassment and assault accusations by four women against the chef. Batali drew a spirited backlash by including a recipe for pizza dough cinnamon rolls in an apology of sorts to fans in his newsletter.
Fixed Mario Batali’s apology pic.twitter.com/RSk75W8ry4
— Abbi Crutchfield (@curlycomedy) December 16, 2017
Batali isn't alone in his industry with accusations of sexual misconduct. Others include New Orleans celebrity chef John Besh, who stepped down from the company he founded in 2017 after 25 female employees made claims against him.