Top Chef winner was fired for misconduct

[silverstarry]

Gabe Erales was the executive chef at Comedor in Austin, Texas. He had what has been described as a "consensual sexual relationship" with an employee at the restaurant in summer 2020. He competed on season 18 of Top Chef in October 2020. When he returned to the restaurant in November 2020, he cut the employee's hours (he claims he cut her hours

Comments

[honeyspun]

People have known about these allegations for months (it’s been discussed often on the bravo top chef subreddit).

Shota or Dawn should’ve won.

[nene718]

Disappointing end to what was otherwise a great season with some of the most likeable contestants yet. Gabe was likable if you knew nothing of the allegations which just proves how men can't be trusted. I was gunning for Shota (unfortunately couldn't root for Dawn in good faith with her constant screwups) but he just had to fuck up his rice.

[nene718]

This was my first time watching live too since like season...3 so that was extra disappointing

[zhenyaodin2]

Yep, I watched it live too and had no idea about the allegations until I googled gabe after the episode finished. Just one big giant shit sandwich of an ending to what would have otherwise been one of if not my favorite season of the show. Men ruining everything since forever.

[nene718]

i knew about halfway through the season thanks to reddit and a part of me knew he would win because he almost always got glowing comments but i didn't want to believe it 😡

[thebadunkadunk]

I haven’t watched the finale but justice for Shota!!!!!

[junhyosungs]

shota was robbed. dawn made amazing food but there was no way she should have won after making so many constant mistakes. i think she should have been eliminated sooner but her flavors were strong enough i guess. shota seems to be thriving tho based on his social media! also i have a huge crush on him lmao

[ellyrianna]

Shota is so freaking cute omg

[aristobrit]

Dawn won three quckfires, Shota and Gabe both won one. She also won an elimination challenge, so she definitely deserved to be in the finale. The taste of her amazing food is what got her there, and as a diner, I'd rather eat whatever she got on the plate than some of the things the other people prepared that were undercooked.

[analievelyn]

Honestly I don't get how these shows don't do any vetting of these ppl. Using ignorance is not a valid excuse imo. Not for a show on this level

Non rapists and non harassers can be entertaining, too.

Can't imagine what his victims feel seeing him get a huge platform.

[fubukihakuryu]

There's a unique problem in this case - the restaurant industry is extremely fucking toxic lol like moreso than other careers so I can imagine the vetting process can be really hard since a lot of actions are kept to one restaurant, but Bravo knew what was going on in this case.

I used to wait tables for years for a few restaurants when I was in college and a few years after for extra money (I'm in a super shitty corporate job now) and the sexual harassment and employees putting themselves in extremely unethical situations is so much more open and apparent that any jobs I've ever had. I worked at a really popular restaurant and the chef (who was on an old season on Top Chef) was a heroin addict and he would constantly come into the job just blown out of his mind and then the gross lecherous managers/chefs would go get drunk out of their minds after shifts with waitstaff and they'd all fuck each other and everyone carried on like it was no big deal.

[aristobrit]

Top chefs are wild. I worked in administration at a boutique hotel where we had one of the chefs who was named in the "50 Top Chefs" Bon Appetite list, and he did make phenomenal food but he was so volatile, you never knew what he was going to be like when he was in the kitchen