After being out of the limelight for some time, Chef Mario Batali is back hosting a cooking demonstration over Zoom, and in his first show he blasted the “assholes” in New York City and vowed that he will never return to the Big Apple.
Batali, who first made a name for himself on The Food Network and then went on to run popular restaurants in New York City, made his remarks during his new livestream cooking show entitled “Molto A Casa,” hosted from his home in Northport, Michigan.
After the cooking demonstration, Batali was asked during the Q & A session if he would ever go back to New York City. He at first replied, “Me and New York have parted ways. I’m done.” But he then went on, ripping the Big Apple,” the New York Post reported.
“It was a great town. It worked for me for the longest time,” the 63-year-old chef went on.
“New York, there’s a lot of great people I love most of them, but there’s enough assholes in New York City that I’m done with that town. And I wish everyone the best there,” he exclaimed.
Batali’s harsh assessment of the town comes after he fled New York City on the tail of a string of accusations of sexual assault, none of which he was convicted for, starting back in 2017.
The accusations put an end to his television career and forced him out of the partnerships in his restaurants, such as Babbo, Lupa, and Casa Mono.
In 2017, the chef was accused of sexually assaulting a woman at The Spotted Pig, the West Village restaurant where he was an investor. The woman accused him of assaulting her while she was unconscious on the building’s third floor where she alleged there was a “rape room.”
He was later accused of groping a woman at a bar in Boston, but was cleared of the charged during a trial in 2022.
Throughout the accusations, Batali maintained his innocence and to date he has not been convicted of anything.
Batali also confirmed that he has no plans to return to TV any time soon, noting that the live streaming over Zoom is all he intends to do for now. “This is it. This is where we’re going to be,” he said.
He reportedly gained an audience of 850 viewers for the live stream cooking demonstration and ended his presentation saying, “Above all smile.”
“It’s a dark time. Including the adversity and tricky situations in life – smile at all of it. Joy is within reach and nothing is insurmountable,” he said.
“Resist anyone’s intent to separate us – the humans, the cooks, the lovers of our lives and most importantly remember delish is easily within your capacity. Be excellent to yourself and to others,” he concluded.
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