Chef in Hot Water Over ‘No Communists or Gays’ Job Ad
Rome: An Italian Michelin-starred Italian chef is in hot water after posting an ad saying he was looking for help in the kitchen barring communists and gays. “I’m selecting chefs. Communists and people with sexual orientation issues are excluded”, said the since-deleted post by Paolo Cappuccio, a Michelin-starred chef at the Eden restaurant in Madonna di Campiglio, which has sparked a furore.
According to Ansa News Agency, following the publication of the post, in which Cappuccio said he was looking for “a chef, three chefs de partie, and a pastry chef from December to March,” protests and insults poured in, as reported by Corriere Trentino. Comments such as “What’s your signature dish? Spaghetti with garlic and castor oil?”, “Chef, can you cook me an illegal act of discrimination, garnished with profound repression?”, and “I hope they send you to cook for Caritas, at least you’ll be useful” are some of the online reactions against the chef, who has decades of experience at Michelin-starred restaurants such as La Stube at the Bio Hotel Hermitage in Madonna di Campiglio.
“After yet another disappointment, I was looking for honest collaborators, with a clear idea of their position within the company, within the team, who behave well. Rights are sacrosanct, but there are also duties,” the chef told Corriere del Trentino, justifying his post as “an announcement of desperation, an outlet for mental exhaustion.” In short, he explained, “I’ve taken a stereotype to the extreme.”
Cappuccio elaborated that potential hires often arrive with “numerous hobbies, a dog, a guitar, left-wing ideas, and they turn out to be professional failures.” He mentioned excluding them to avoid wasting time and to convey that the work environment is different from social gatherings or political events. Regarding sexual orientation, he stated, “I have gay friends; we go out and go on vacation together. But at work, everyone stays in their place. If you invade someone else’s freedom, you’re imposing your own lifestyle, which can be annoying.”