I’ll try & dig 'em out if I can. It was a show called the Cook Report IIRC. And howay, no there were no arrests, or it would have stained his career (and White’s). There’s footage though, but it’s hard to find, by the looks of it. I remember watching it at the time & being shocked by it though (and yeah, I know, television). I’ll see if I can dig it out, but a quick google/youtube hasn’t found it, unfortunately.
As for the point that it’s normal behaviour in many, many restaraunts, yes, that’s what I’m saying. Despite his indubitable culinary skills, a great deal of his TV persona is a sanitised version of his previous behaviour, and I dislike him for that. The entire culture of viciousness that surrounds prestigious chefs (and the ones who assume they are) is one of the reasons I don’t do that kind of work anymore. Well, that and the fact it’s basically as stressful as trench warfare, only involving sausages even on a good day. A friend of mine came up with a beautiful description of it: “Kitchen people are like a different tribe; if you’re not one, you’ll never understand, but you’ll probably have a lot less cuts and addictions”.
It’s hard back there, man…
[edit to add:] it’s pretty common knowledge here in the kitchen world as well. Though, again, that’s apocryphal…
