2023-12-28 14:39:19
According to Sud Ouest, hazing allegedly took place in the kitchens of the gourmet restaurant of the Hôtel du Palais in Biarritz. The starred chef denounces “defamatory comments”. The Bayonne public prosecutor’s office announced for its part that it had opened an investigation into sexual assault and violence.
Is the departure of the starred chef from the gourmet restaurant at the Hôtel du Palais in Biarritz (Pyrénées-Atlantiques), Aurélien Largeau, linked to acts of hazing? In an article published this Thursday evening, our colleagues from South West evoke “humiliating facts”, which occurred on Saturday December 2 in the kitchens of this luxury establishment.
According to testimonies collected by the regional daily, a young clerk would have been tied naked to a chair, in front of members of the brigade, as well as the starred chef Aurélien Largeau – considered one of the “greats of tomorrow” by the gastronomic guide Gault&Millau. The newspaper specifies that the victim appears with an apple in his mouth and a carrot in his buttocks in images posted on social networks – since removed.
If no complaint has been filed for the moment, a preliminary investigation was opened for sexual assault and violence this Thursday, Bayonne public prosecutor Jérôme Bourrier told BFMTV.com.
Contacted by BFMTV.com, chef Aurélien Largeau denounces “defamatory and false comments”, considering that it is a “monstrous attack” on his “honor” and his “formidable teams”.
The hotel evokes a “concerning incident”
The management of the Hôtel du Palais confirms to BFMTV.com that it has been “informed of the worrying incident which took place on the premises of the hotel and of images which have circulated”. She claims “to have reacted immediately”.
“This incident does not reflect the values that we all defend, an investigation was carried out and the appropriate decisions were taken,” explains management.
However, the management of the establishment does not wish to “make any further comments”.
Contacted by BFMTV.com, the City of Biarritz, the main shareholder of the mixed economy company which owns the walls of the palace, whose personnel management is delegated to the Hyatt group, did not wish to react.
“We are fighting once morest these practices”
According to the regional daily, the departure of Aurélien Largeau, 31, took place on December 21. This chef recruited in 2020 to run the gourmet restaurant of the five-star hotel had a Michelin star since last year.
“If the facts are proven, it is very serious. It is scandalous and unimaginable to see this kind of thing in 2023,” reacted Jean-Pierre Istre, the president of the Union of Hotel Trades and Industries (Umih) in the Basque Country. “We are falling from a height, because we are fighting once morest these practices,” added the representative of cafe owners, restaurateurs and hoteliers, who does not hide his anger, to BFMTV.com.
For its part, the Bondir.e association, which fights once morest violence perpetrated in the restaurant industry, condemns these actions. “This umpteenth act of aggression only proves that our actions are necessary to change the catering industry,” declared a representative of the association, contacted by BFMTV.com.
1703778336
#alleged #hazing #shakes #palace #starred #chef #Aurélien #Largeau #leaves #establishment
