Dear Chef,
You don’t know me and chances are, you’d never give me the time of day. That said, you were a hero to me and so many other Chefs. I had your photo hanging in my Kitchen for years, inspiring not only me, but everyone who came through the doors. Like so many of us, you came from the dishpit. That’s why these allegations hurt.
You let the money and fame corrupt you.
I’m not saying you don’t deserve the accolades, you worked your ass off and you earned your place in history. But you forgot your roots, you forgot where you came from. Like it or not, just like me, you’re a dishwasher who got lucky. At the end of the day we all are and the minute you lose sight of this, it’s game over.
So let’s talk about the allegations.
For the record, I’m gonna play devil’s advocate and assume that you really had no idea what the hell was going on. You have what, three restaurants in Yountsville, a spot in Vegas, at least one in New York, plus a retail shop to sell your books. I don’t claim to know how you spend your days but I can’t help but believe that you’re a busy guy who has assembled a team that you trust to run the day to day operations and thus, you might not be paying attention to the payroll or how your house is being run.
That said, you now have three former employees claiming wage theft and the fact that you’re staying silent is a big problem for those of us in the Kitchen who look up to you as a mentor and someone to model our behavior on. I know, I know, you’re not being directly accused, but it’s your company with your name on it. At the end of the day, you hired these people and this shit is on you.
I also have to point out that these allegations ain’t coming from your Vegas location, they’re coming from The French Laundry, the temple you built that changed the entire industry. You live down the street from it.
Rule number one.
When service goes smooth and everything is perfect, you give credit to your crew since they’re the ones who pulled it off. When shit hits the fan, you take responsibility. This really ain’t up for debate.
One thing you don’t do is screw over your crew. I don’t care how many resumes you have from aspiring Chefs willing to kiss your feet and work for free so they can say they kissed your feet and worked in your Kitchen, you still take care of the people who make your restaurant run.
Dude, you’re worth an estimated $20 million on the low end and $130 million on the high end, you can afford to pay your staff a fair wage. Again, I’m not blaming you directly, but you hired people to make the numbers work and at some point, they put profit over common decency and they’re the ones who made the call to pull this kind of shit. They assumed that nobody would notice, that nobody would stand up for themselves.
Oh, and I hate to be the one pointing out the obvious but if this is happening at the Laundry, it’s most likely happening at all of your restaurants. I’m more than willing to bet that these first three are going to inspire others to come forward.
Let’s assume the allegations are totally false.
The silence is still a bad look, especially given the recent situation at Noma. I get it, your legal team is probably telling you to keep your mouth shut and your head down, to let them do their job and sort it out in court.
That’s the sad part. Instead of stepping up, cleaning house and fixing this yourself, you’re staying quiet and paying lawyers way more to fight this than it would cost you to pay your staff. This is some cowardly behavior amigo.
Legal does not mean ethical.
The industry is plagued by predatory assholes who take advantage of their staff and would sell out their crew without hesitation for the right price. Just because there’s some loophole technicality doesn’t mean it’s ethically or morally right to behave like that.
How the hell can you have the audacity to lecture people about how magical and sacred a potato is when it’s apparent that the people who run your books are screwing over the staff that make your place a destination?
In closing…
It’s your reputation, it’s your legacy. Why tarnish it now, this late in the game? You have the ability to fix this and come out on top as a hero who stepped up and took care of his staff. You didn’t become a Chef for the fame or money so why are you letting it blind you now??
Sadly, Bourdain is gone. I can’t help but think of him picking up the phone and calling you directly as soon as the news came out and asking, “Dude, what the fuck are you doing?”. This sentiment is resonating across the industry about you right now. The worst part is that most people ain’t surprised by any of this, they’re disgusted and disappointed but not surprised at all.
I say this with what little respect I can muster…. You’re a Chef, Chefs are leaders, man up, fix this and take care of your staff.
Best regards
Seth MacKenzie
PS, if you’d ever like to chat in person, I’m in Oakland and can be in Yountville in an hour with little notice. I’ll bring a blunt as a peace offering.