Scandal in the kitchen Mälzer's reckoning after dinner for King Charles and Diana
A traumatic experience at a dinner for the British royal family led TV chef Tim Mälzer to quit his job. He talks about this turning point on NDR Talk.
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- In an NDR talk show, Tim Mälzer talks about the extremely stressful and violent working conditions in Michelin-starred kitchens in the 1990s.
- He describes experiences of racism, sexism and physical violence in renowned kitchens.
- A humiliating incident after a dinner for the British royal family prompted him to quit his job at the Ritz Hotel in London.
In an interview with presenters Aminata Belli and Aurel Mertz, "Kitchen Impossible" star and restaurant owner Tim Mälzer reveals shocking experiences from the 1990s that took place before his breakthrough as a TV chef and restaurant owner.
After training at the InterContinental Hotel in Hamburg, Mälzer worked as a chef at the luxurious Ritz Hotel in London.
However, he only lasted a short time there, as the difficult working conditions forced him to give up the prestigious job - especially after a dinner for the British royals, reports the portal "ndr.de".
Mälzer: "I was an accomplice, just because I was watching"
In the NDR talk show, Tim Mälzer describes massive experiences of violence that took place behind the scenes in fine kitchens: "Someone next to me was burned with a hot knife because he didn't peel the foie gras fast enough. I was there myself when someone was kicked by six people in the kitchen because he was getting on our nerves. We were racist, sexist, we were everything. It was underground."
Even he himself was not free of guilt. Tim Mälzer recounts: "We physically attacked mentally ill people. I was an accomplice, just because I was watching."
Dinner for Charles was the straw that broke the camel's back
The decisive moment that finally made Tim Mälzer give up was a dinner for the British royal family, "back then with Di and Charles and the whole entourage".
After the exhausting cooking marathon, the lead "pen pusher" was made such a "pig" and humiliated by the chef in front of the whole team that he lay on the floor crying and soaked himself.
After this experience, Mälzer thought to himself: "Woah, I don't think that's my cup of tea anymore."
The next day, he went to the head chef and resigned.
