New York City celebrity chef Mario Batali will have to fork over a chunk of dough to women he and others allegedly sexually harassed at his restaurants, state officials said Friday.
The disgraced restaurateur and his former partner, TV food show judge Joe Bastianich, will pay a total of $600,000, to split among at least 20 workers who endured workplace harassment or discrimination, as part of a settlement, New York Attorney General Letitia James announced after a four-year investigation.
The probe found that Batali, 60 — who has been accused of groping and forcibly kissing women — and his management firm B&B “permitted an intolerable work environment” at Manhattan hotspots such as Babbo, Lupa, and the now-shuttered Del Posto, James said in a statement. The company has since changed its name to Pasta Resources.
“Celebrity and fame does not absolve someone from following the law. Sexual harassment is unacceptable for anyone, anywhere — no matter how powerful the perpetrator,” James said.
“Batali and Bastianich permitted an intolerable work environment and allowed shameful behavior that is inappropriate in any setting,” she said.
“More than 20 employees were subjected to a hostile work environment in which female and male employees were sexually harassed by Batali, restaurant managers, and other coworkers,” James’ office said.
The victims “witnessed or personally experienced unwanted sexual advances, inappropriate touching, and sexually explicit comments from managers and coworkers.
“Several female employees were forcibly groped, hugged, and/or kissed by male colleagues.”
In one case, Batali grabbed a waitress’s hand and pulled it toward his crotch as she served him at Lupa, the probe found. He also showed a male worker an unwanted porn video at the restaurant, according to the AG’s office.
Higher-ups at the restaurants also fostered a toxic work environment by favoring male staffers and degrading women — including by making comments about their looks, and instructing them to wear more makeup and get breast implants, according to the investigation.
Other female workers were subjected to crude sexual comments made by a male manager — including ones about “getting on [your] knees” and being a “bad girl,” the probe found.
It also said B&B employers discouraged workers from reporting sexual harassment and failed to take action when the complaints by women were made.
“I endured constant, escalating sexual harassment,” said Brianna Pintens, a former server at Del Posto, in a press release from James’s office. “Management routinely ignored these behaviors, made excuses for the perpetrators, and often used victim-blaming as a way to avoid having to deal with a workplace culture rooted in fear and humiliation.”
Juliana Imperati, a former line cook at Del Posto, added, “When my female coworkers and I were being sexually harassed by multiple people at Del Posto, the restaurant’s leadership made us feel as if we were asking for it — as if it is a rite of passage to be harassed at work.”
Batali was fired from his cooking talk show “The Chew” and later resigned from daily operations at his restaurant group in 2017 after at least four women accused him of inappropriate touching over a period of two decades.
The NYPD closed its investigation into the sexual assault allegations related to Batali in 2019 without pressing any charges.
Batali still faces indecent-assault raps in Boston for a 2017 incident in which he allegedly groped and kissed a woman at a restaurant. He pleaded not guilty, and the case is still pending.
The settlement between Batali and Bastianich and the state also notes that restaurants owned by the pair must revise their “training materials” and submit biannual reports to the attorney general’s office to prove compliance.
Batali has previously called his past behavior “deeply inappropriate.” A rep for the restaurant group didn’t immediately return a request for comment Friday.
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