One of the biggest names in the food world is leaving his restaurant empire for now after news of sexual misconduct has been released.
According to an article from Eater, Mario Batali says that he is "stepping away from the day-to-day operations of his businesses" for an unknown period of time following allegations of inappropriate behavior that reportedly go back at least two decades based on multiple interviews by Eater, while ABC's, The Chew has asked him to step away from the show while they "review the allegations that have just recently come to [their] attention." The businesses that Batali is stepping away from include two in Boston--Eataly in the Prudential Center and Babbo in the Seaport District, both of which are part of the Batali & Bastianich (B&B) Hospitality Group.
B&B tells Eater that even though the company has had sexual harassment training and policies for 10+ years, it is now bringing in an independent corporate investigations firm that will help any workers looking to make claims against owners of their restaurants, while partner Joe Bastianich says that "Right now, I’m just focused on ensuring that our more than 1,000 employees continue to have a safe and positive work environment."
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