Former Miss France accuses celebrity chef of domestic violence
Alexandra Rosenfeld said Jean Imbert — who is head chef at several prestigious restaurants including the Michelin-starred Plaza Athenée in Paris — broke her nose with a headbutt when they were together in 2013 and also subjected her to 'scorn, belittling [comments], silences [and] words perfectly placed to make me doubt myself'.
Imbert, 44, who sprung to fame when he won Top Chef, a televised cooking competition, in 2012, denies her claims and says he was the victim of her violent behaviour.
Rosenfeld, 38, is among four women who told Elle magazine that Imbert displayed controlling behaviour amid fits of jealousy during their relationships with him.
Their allegations have added to claims that French cuisine is tainted by a long history of sexism and violence.
Rosenfeld, who won the Miss France 2006 title, was initially quoted by Elle in April under a false name that gave no clue as to her real identity. This week, she went public with a statement on her Instagram account accompanied by the result of the scan she had after she said she was headbutted by Imbert. It said she had suffered a 'traumatism from a direct shock' with a broken nose.
'But bizarrely, that was not what marked me,' she wrote. 'What damaged me was all that was around it. It was slow, insidious, the controlling behaviour. I didn't even know it was called that. I thought the problem was me.'
Rosenfeld said the relationship ended when Imbert left her for someone else. But in January, he invited her and her family to the opening of La Forêt Secrète, a new restaurant at Disneyland Paris.
'I was surprised, touched,' she wrote, before adding that she now suspects that he sent the invitation because he was aware that Elle was planning to publish an article about him and wanted to get back on good terms with his former partners. 'And then everything came back, this impression of being approached nicely in order to be placed in a hold.'
• Jason Atherton: I haven't seen any sexism in the kitchen
Imbert's team has denied all the allegations against him. They said the headbutt occurred during 'a moment of violence to which Jean Imbert was subjected when he was grabbed by the wrist and freed himself. He profoundly regrets the consequences of this for her.'
The team said the relationship between Imbert and Rosenfeld was 'unsustainable, marked by insults and fits'. They said Rosenfeld had sent him insulting text messages when the relationship ended.
They also denied the claims of jealousy and controlling behaviour made by the other women interviewed by Elle.
The accusations came with some women chefs starting to denounce what they say is a culture of toxic behaviour in restaurant kitchens where sexist insults and violence are widespread. Observers say eminent chefs have long felt free to treat female underlings as they like without fear of reprisal in a society that places them on pedestals.
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