Free Republic

Mario Batali on Tuesday was cleared of charges that he groped a woman at a Boston bar — an important victory for the celebrity chef who fell from grace after multiple allegations of sexual impropriety surfaced. Boston Municipal Court Judge James Stanton found the chef — who had waived his right to a trial by jury — not guilty of indecent battery and assault after a criminal trial that lasted less than two days. Tene, 32 testified on Monday that Batali, 61, non-consensually kissed her, rubbed her breasts, grabbed her behind and put his hands between her legs while taking...

Scandal-scarred celebrity chef Mario Batali will not be charged for alleged sex attacks on two women, sources told The Post.

Mario Batali’s three Las Vegas Strip restaurants will shut down July 27, officials said Friday, as the celebrity chef faces sexual misconduct allegations from multiple women. Batali & Bastianich Hospitality Group partner Joe Bastianich sent a letter to nearly 300 workers about the closures of Carnevino Italian Steakhouse, B&B Ristorante and Otto Enoteca e Pizzeria at The Venetian and Palazzo resorts. He promised to visit the restaurants to speak to employees.

Just over a month since #MeToo snagged celebrity chef John Besh, Mario Batali finds himself in the frying pan. TMZ reports: Mario Batali is accused of "inappropriate touching" by 4 women -- 3 of them former employees -- and the allegation is forcing the celebrity chef to step away from his restaurant empire.One of Batali's accusers called him "creepy" and said he gave "me this provocative, icky feeling." Other claims are he groped a woman's breasts, grabbed someone from behind and compelled her to straddle him. Batali issued a statement saying “I apologize to the people I have mistreated and...

Mario Batali doesn’t think $15 minimum wage is good for restaurants or foodies Published September 15, 2017 Celebrity chef Mario Batali isn’t convinced that a minimum wage of $15 will be good for the restaurant industry. Speaking at a Recode’s Code Commerce event on Wednesday, Batali admitted that raising servers’ wages to $15 per hour is “a fascinating way of looking at raising quality of life," but doesn’t personally feel it’s sustainable for the owners of smaller restaurants, reports Buzzfeed. There’s no question that raising minimum wage is a faster way to get people more money very quickly,” said Batali...

Batali has taken leave from his restaurants and co-hosting duties on ABC's "The Chew" after the website Eater reported Monday that four women, all unnamed, have accused Batali of sexual harassment. In the wake of the allegations, the Food Network announced it is putting plans to relaunch his seminal show, "Molto Mario," next year on hold. One woman described two instances where Batali made inappropriate and unwelcome physical contact with her, while the others alleged that Batali groped their breasts and buttocks at industry parties. Three of them worked for him, while the fourth has not but works in the...

Four women made sexual misconduct allegations against 'The Chew' host. Celebrity chef Mario Batali has been accused of sexual harassment by multiple women. In an Eater New York exposé published Monday, four women accused the chef of "inappropriate touching in a pattern of behavior that spans at least two decades." On Sunday, without naming Batali directly, Anthony Bourdain tweeted that he knew who the chef was. Bourdain tweeted that "Monday is really gonna suck," and added in a follow-up tweet that "it’s where you stand when the people you care about and admire do awful things that matters. Keeping head...

I must interrupt the presidential election process to bring you this important reflection on the Obama’s last, historic State Dinner; this one for the Italian prime minister Matteo Renzi and his wife, Agnese Landini. So naturally we wore Italian (Versace) For the final state dinner hosted by President Obama, this one in honor of Italy’s prime minister, first lady Michelle Obama wore a custom rose-gold chain-mail gown from Atelier Versace. It was a slinky gown with an asymmetrical neckline that slithered like liquid metal down her torso and around her hips. It was pure Hollywood glamour. – WaPo And we...

On June 2 HBO, MTV, and a host of celebrities will be joining Michael Bloomberg and other pro-gun control groups to watch participating mayors proclaim “Gun Violence Awareness Day” in their cities. Those participating will “wear orange” and MTV will “change its on-air logo — as well as several of its social media avatars — to orange in recognition of National Gun Violence Awareness Day.” According to PRNewsWire, participating celebrities–aka, “cultural influencers”–include: Julianne Moore, Russell Simmons, Sarah Silverman, Michael Stipe, Patti Smith, Aasif Mandvi,Alyssa Milano, Padma Lakshmi, John Hodgman, Amanda Peet, Perez Hilton, Melissa Joan Hart, Tiffani Thiessen, Tunde Adebimpe...

Police are investigating a vicious attack on a Manhattan chef who was walking alone on Tuesday night when he was allegedly assaulted by a group of six to eight men, all between the ages of 16 and 21. ‘I'm not well, a lot of swelling and overall pain,’ said victim Diego Moya. ‘Should be four weeks until I lose the wires and can eat normally, which is devastating being a chef. Means I can't work.’(continued)

Celebrity chef Mario Batali has agreed to whip up a $5.25 million payment to the captains, waiters and other workers at his restaurants who claimed they had been stiffed out of tips. Two-thirds of what may be the biggest settlement of its kind will be shared by 1,100 workers — everybody from the bartenders to the busboys — at swanky Manhattan eateries like Babbo, Bar Jamon, Casa Mono, Del Posto, Esca, Lupa and Otto, and Tarry Lodgein Port Chester, court papers revealed Wednesday. The rest goes to the lawyers who took on Batali and business partner Joseph Bastianich. When the...

Winding down his media blitz from the Food Stamp Challenge, Mario Batali appeared on last night’s The Last Word With Lawrence O’Donnell to defend his decision to feed his family of four on a food stamp budget, which is to say: $31 dollars per person per week, which breaks down to $1.48 per meal. His biggest lesson? “Shopping at more than one store was the key to understanding it,” Batali said to his disciple O’Donnell, live from the kitchen of Babbo (which I am surprised can handle a live media feed, unless there’s also a secret green screen room at...

NEW YORK - Celebrity chef Mario Batali dished out $5.25 million to settle his long-simmering battle with workers at his New York eateries, according to court documents made public Wednesday.

Del Posto and Babbo have the same celebrity chef as an owner, reputations for impossible-to-get reservations, and customers who can afford, say, Del Posto’s seven-course “menu tradizionale” at $145 a person. It is not unreasonable to imagine that a good number of those customers make a living on Wall Street. So their reaction after word spread on Wednesday that Mario Batali had mentioned them in the same breath as Stalin and Hitler was to let their hefty wallets do the talking and threaten to cancel their hard-won reservations. Some complained on Twitter, some on the Bloomberg terminals they use to...

Fans of the Food Network hit show 'Iron Chef America' will be in for a real treat this Sunday November 12th as Rachael Ray (with Mario Batali) matches up against Giada DeLaurentiis (with Bobby Flay) in a "Cranberry Battle" on the set of Kitchen Stadium. "Cranberry Battle" preview -http://wms.scripps.com/library/Food_Network/67673.wmv (windows media player) Giada DeLaurentiis - Giada DeLaurentiis profile Rachel Ray - Rachel Ray profileBobby Flay - Bobby Flay profile Mario Batali - Mario Batali profile --- Episode info - In a special Iron Chef America presentation, Food Network All Stars Rachael Ray and Giada De Laurentiis come to Kitchen Stadium...