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FOOD AND DRINK

French star chef quits restaurant after ‘troubling’ hazing

A French star chef has abruptly quit his luxury hotel job after a hazing in which a kitchen hand was reportedly tied up naked and humiliated, the hotel chain said on Thursday.

French star chef quits restaurant after 'troubling' hazing
The Hotel du Palais (right) on the seafront at Biarritz. Photo by GAIZKA IROZ / AFP

Aurelien Largeau, 31, who has a coveted Michelin star to his name, ran the restaurant of the prestigious Hotel du Palais in Biarritz, southwestern France, until last week when he suddenly left.

A spokeswoman for hotel owners Hyatt told AFP that the management had been informed of a “troubling incident”, footage of which had been shared online.

She gave no details of what is on the images but regional daily Sud Ouest reported that they show 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 said.

“This incident does not reflect the values that we defend,” the Hyatt spokeswoman said. “We have undertaken an investigation and taken the appropriate decisions,” she said.

“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 over €400.

Officials at Biarritz city hall, which owns the hotel building, were unavailable for comment.

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 in recent years, including one called “Hands off my Kitchen Hand” and another “Respect your Kitchen”.

Member comments

  1. I understand the Carrot Cake is excellent at the Hotel du Palais in Biarritz. My friend Paris Hilton says it leaves a funky taste in your mouth.

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PARIS 2024 OLYMPICS

No French fries but lots of lentils for Paris Olympic athletes

There will be no French fries but plenty of lentils on offer to athletes attending the Paris Olympics, with organisers unveiling a Games menu that combines eco-minded recipes with French gastronomy.

No French fries but lots of lentils for Paris Olympic athletes

The 3,300-seat restaurant at the Paris Olympic village, which will welcome athletes next month, was given its first test-run on Tuesday by a hungry crowd of sports figures, officials and journalists.

Based in a vast former power station, the food hall includes six dining areas offering meals from around the globe, with half of the 50 dishes available each day being 100 percent vegetarian.

“People are going to meet here in France, with its culture, its heritage but also its gastronomy and so there are expectations,” chief Paris 2024 organiser Tony Estanguet told reporters.

Although many athletes would stick to their usual nutrition before competing, they will also be offered the chance to discover France’s famed food, with several Michelin-starred chefs taken on as advisers.

“We’ve allowed ourselves to put French gastronomy in pride of place so that curious athletes from around the world can try French culinary excellence,” Estanguet added.

The giant warm-food buffets will not include French fries, however.

McDonalds, a long-time Olympics sponsor, had its own fast-food restaurant in the Olympic village until the Rio Olympics in 2016, but athletes wanting a hit of junk food will have to look elsewhere.

“For technical reasons, we can’t offer fries,” said Estelle Lamotte, deputy director of village catering at food group Sodexo, told reporters.

She explained deep-fat fryers were not allowed in the temporary kitchens at the site, which is usually used as a film studio.

Gregoire Bechu, head of sustainable food at the Paris organising committee, stressed the quality of the ‘delicious’ lentil dahl recipe that has been developed for athletes.

“One of the major commitments by Paris 2024 was offering vegetarian meals in order to halve the carbon footprint of each meal on average,” he said. “We wanted vegetarian meals everywhere.”

At sports venues, 60 percent of food offered to fans will be vegetarian and the temporary stadium hosting skateboarding, BMX and breakdancing at the Place de la Concorde in central Paris will be entirely meat-free.

In a further bid to lower carbon emissions, only two of the six restaurant areas at the village will be air-conditioned, with the rest in outdoor courtyards sheltered by fabric sun shades and ventilated with overhead fans.

Tuesday’s test event, held under fierce sunshine and in 27C heat, saw some people visibly sweating.

“I think we’ve found a good compromise between offering the right temperature but also reducing our carbon emissions,” Estanguet said. “It’s one of the main challenges of the Paris 2024 edition.”

In a break from Olympic tradition, the 2,800 apartments at the village do not come with air-conditioning as standard.

But many Olympic teams have decided to install portable coolers at their own cost.

Paris has suffered a number of record heatwaves in recent years with temperatures peaking above 40C in July and August, but 2024 has so far been wet and cool.

The Paris Olympics run from July 26th to August 11th, followed by the Paralympics from August 28th to September 8th.

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