He is one of France’s most celebrated chefs, but staff at Joël Robuchon’s newest restaurant say they have been subject to verbal abuse and appalling working conditions in revelations that threaten to tarnish the reputation of a culinary superstar.

Advertising Read more

Interviewed as part of an investigation by Francetv Info published Friday, kitchen staff past and present at Robuchon’s La Grande Maison hotel and restaurant in Bordeaux, which opened its doors in December, spoke of 15-hour shifts without a break, having insults hurled at them and, according to one former chef, even being forced to drink salt water.

A renowned perfectionist, 69-year-old Robuchon is one of the world’s most decorated chefs with a total of 25 Michelin stars to his name shared among a dozen restaurants across the world.

La Grande Maison is yet to claim a coveted star, but the managers at the luxury establishment, where a meal costs around 200 euros on average, are apparently prepared to pull out all the stops to make sure that changes soon, even if it means placing huge demands on their staff.

“They constantly tell me that I’m a sh*t. The pressure is extreme,” a young chef, using the pseudonym Boris, told Francetv Info during a quick cigarette break outside the kitchen at La Grande Maison.

Working from 9 a.m. until midnight without a lunch break is a common occurrence for the 30 or so kitchen staff at the restaurant, Boris and others told Francetv Info.

Franck Yoke, a chef who worked at La Grande Maison for just two days before the intense conditions, which he described as “no longer a restaurant [but] tyranny”, forced him to quit.

"We didn’t have the right to take lunch, only a few five-minute breaks," he told the news website.

Yoke says he was the subject of frequent verbal abuse from the restaurant’s head chef, Tomonori Danzaki, described as Robuchon’s “eyes and hands”.

“He treated us like dogs, morons, less-than-nothing,” said Yoke.

‘There was a desire to humiliate us’

He recounted how on one occasion he had over-salted some cooking water, which Danzaki then “forced” him to drink. The story was confirmed by another employee.

"There was a desire to humiliate us. Young people are traumatised there,” said Yoke.

Yoke quit the restaurant in early January but, because he had not signed a contract, he said he has not been paid for the days he worked.

He is not the only one to have found the heat at the Grand Maison kitchen too much to handle. Another employee told Francetv Info that around 15 chefs have quit since the restaurant opened. La Grande Maison’s manager John Paul Unzueta said the number stood at nine.

“We have these young people who, after seeing some TV shows, think they can become a three-starred chef. But the reality is completely different,” he said.

Kitchens in the world’s top restaurants have long been known to be high-pressure environments, particularly for younger chefs at the start of their careers.

But cases of harassment and abuse meted out to employees at high-end eateries is something that is gaining increasing attention in France, sparked by a case that came to light in April last year at Le Pré Catelan, a Paris restaurant boasting three Michelin stars, where an apprentice cook was the victim of intentional burnings by a senior member of the kitchen staff.

In November last year, a group of renowned French chefs, including including Cyril Lignac, took part in panel discussion in the French capital to help draw attention to the issue.

Franck Pinay-Rabaroust, founder of industry magazine Atabula, which helped organize the event, told FRANCE 24 at the time that “there is still a certain denial by chefs, even if they agree there is a problem”.

“There is a real difficulty in establishing what level of pressure is acceptable and what is not,” he said.

Daily newsletterReceive essential international news every morning Subscribe