World Famous Restaurant Chef Accused Of Employee Abuse — 'Going To Work Felt Like Going To War'

While I've never worked in an intense, Michelin-starred restaurant, I know from my time in various commercial kitchens that the culinary industry can be brutal. Long hours, perpetual stress, and relentless demands from chefs are just a few of the things in store for those who choose to step behind the line. But physical abuse? That wasn't a concern on the worst days in any establishment. Sadly, it has been alleged that it was a common occurrence for years at the hands of René Redzepi, the chef at Noma — a restaurant in Copenhagen, Denmark, that was once considered one of the world's best dining destinations.

Multiple former employees who worked under chef Redzepi have come forward to spill the tea about the violent behavior they witnessed or were victims of during their time at the acclaimed restaurant. Tales of physical abuse are rampant, from claims that the chef would stab employees in the legs with kitchen utensils to punching a worker in the ribs for using her phone. Redzepi even once allegedly hauled the entire staff into the cold to witness him berate a sous chef who was playing techno music in the kitchen. After punching him in the torso, he made the sous chef emphatically declare that he liked committing lewd acts on DJs before the staff was allowed back inside.

"Going to work felt like going to war," said one former employee (via The New York Times). Dozens of staff members who once worked under Redzepi have detailed similar accounts of abuse, and not just physical. If true, this guy makes the chef who made Gordon Ramsay cry look like a kitten.

Hulu's hit series "The Bear" doesn't get everything right about the Michelin star system, but it nails how intense situations can get behind the scenes in some fine dining restaurants. As if allegations revealing chef René Redzepi of Noma was literally beating his staff (sometimes just walking down the line, punching everyone in the chest) weren't bad enough, there are also claims that he was psychologically abusive. Between humiliating his employees publicly for unsatisfactory performances and body shaming workers who didn't fit the mold for what he viewed as the ideal shape, staff members at Noma must have been walking on eggshells every day they set foot inside the establishment.

Redzepi has been wishy-washy about refuting the claims against him, and stated that while he didn't remember anything getting that out of hand, he did concede that he may have banged into someone on occasion (what one former employee describes as being slammed up against a wall and punched in the stomach). For what it's worth, he has confessed that he has had anger issues in the past and has since worked to correct them through therapy.

Although many former staff members probably don't have anything good to say about their time at Noma, at least one indicated that, while the environment was not idyllic, he did benefit from his time with chef Redzepi. "It felt like we were working in an E.R., or a submarine that was going down," the employee said (per The New York Times). "It was hell, but I learned so much that I can't say I regret it."