James Beard Award-winning chef René Redzepi, who co-founded the iconic, Michelin Starred Noma restaurant in Copenhagen, announced his resignation on Wednesday. The announcement comes following years of allegations of abuse, assault, and the creation of a toxic work environment at the restaurant which is one of the world’s most famous, influential and acclaimed dining spots.
Back in 2017, at the height of the #MeToo movement, entire industries were upended with a long-overdue, global reckoning that held countless high-profile men accountable for past behavior of abuse, leading to widespread cultural and workplace change. The chauvinistic toxicity of the restaurant industry was especially highlighted, with big names like Mario Batali, Todd English, John Besh and many others hit with abuse allegations that triggered restaurant closures and public resignations.
Now, nearly a decade later, the latest incident with Redzepi underscores just how far the workforce, and the restaurant world in particular, may still have to go to create safe workspaces that operate at the most elite levels in their industries—and to hold perpetrators accountable.
Jessica Kriegel, Chief Strategy Officer at workplace consultancy firm Culture Partners, tells Fast Company that restaurants are “pressure cookers,” but asserts that shouldn’t excuse abuse—in restaurants, or any other workplace led by highly successful leaders highly visible in their field.
Dismantling the mythology of the ‘brilliant tyrant’
While abuse claims followed Redzepi for years, the heat on the chef reached a boiling point after an explosive New York Times report was published earlier this month.
The piece detailed Redzepi’s alleged abuse from 2009 to 2017, with reports of a kitchen being run by “unpaid interns” working 16-hour shifts, a habit of “public shaming,” and an explosive episode that involved punching an employee. Employees said that kind of abuse was common: “Going to work felt like going to war,” former employee Alessia, who didn’t want her surname to be published in the piece, told the outlet. “You had to force yourself to be strong, to show no fear.”
The bombshell NYT report came just ahead of a new Noma pop-up’s opening in Los Angeles. When the pop-up opened on March 11, a crowd of protesters were outside. Key sponsors like American Express, Resy and Blackbird had pulled their funding the day before. The chef’s resignation soon followed.
“I have worked to be a better leader and Noma has taken big steps to transform the culture over many years,” Redzepi wrote on Instagram following the opening. “I recognize these changes do not repair the past. An apology is not enough; I take responsibility for my own actions.” In a post just days earlier, Redzepi also acknowledged his abusive behavior, which he admitted involved physical acts of aggression, and said he was simply “not able to handle the pressure.”
Fast Company has reached out to Noma for comment.
While workplace culture has undeniably changed in recent years, as individuals (especially women) have spoken out more frequently about workplace harassment and abuse thanks to the #MeToo movement, challenges still exist. Working in an office and a restaurant are drastically different experiences, for example—the latter tends to be an extraordinarily fast-paced environment that can lend itself to toxic conditions.
Kriegel says that more recent representation on shows like The Bear, coupled with brave employee voices, could be helping to bring about some long-awaited change within the industry. The Emmy-winning Hulu hit features toxic bosses at world-class restaurants, but it also shows the impact—including trauma—to employees.
“Workers are speaking up, and audiences are starting to see the human cost behind the mythology of the ‘brilliant tyrant,’” Kriegel explains.
“Shows like The Bear are great because they don’t just glorify the chaos of the kitchen. They show what it does to people.”
According to a 2021 survey of 4,700 restaurant workers from Black Box Intelligence, 49% of restaurant workers experience emotional abuse from managers, and 15% reported being sexually harassed by managers or coworkers. (That’s not even including abuse from customers: 62% of respondents said they receive emotional abuse or disrespect from customers, and another 15% are sexually harassed by them.)
Kriegel says that the narrative is definitely beginning to shift, even when it comes to the restaurant industry. “The world is moving away from tolerating abusive leadership simply because someone is talented,” Kriegel explains.
If Redzepi’s resignation is any indication, that may be true.
