This Celebrity Chef Declared Bankruptcy In 2011 After 100-Plus Former Employees Sued Them

Unfortunately, poor working conditions in professional kitchens are nothing new, and even our favorite celebrity chefs have been accused of labor violations. Take Geoffrey Zakarian, for example. While he's celebrated for his wealth of cooking tips — like this crab cake upgrade or microwave salmon method – what's less widely talked about is that in 2011, he was sued by over 100 employees, ultimately forcing him to declare bankruptcy. 

While Zakarian wasn't the only celebrity chef to have faced a lawsuit, the number of claimants was unprecedented. The legal action was brought forth by 152 former kitchen workers from Zakarian's now-closed Manhattan restaurant, Country, which operated from 2005 to 2008. The workers claimed $1 million in damages and $250,000 in penalties against Zakarian, who they alleged didn't pay them for overtime and even deducted money from their salaries by falsifying payrolls and charging them for non-existent staff meals. Adding to the scandal, the suit was also supported by Zakarian's former business partner, Adam Block, and his other business partner, Moshe Lax, who filed a separate suit for $2 million, alleging that Zakarian did not work in the best interests of the restaurant.

In response to the lawsuits, Zakarian filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy, which allows debts to be discharged through asset liquidation. However, Zakarian only reported $50,000 in assets against claims totalling around $1 million, a figure that raised eyebrows given reports he was renting a $3 million home in Greenwich, Connecticut, at the time (per The New York Times). This leverage likely contributed to the plaintiffs agreeing to a settlement of $200,000, just a fraction of their original claim.

Despite having settled the case, Geoffrey Zakarian has maintained that he did nothing wrong and continues to deny all allegations from his former employees and business partners. His decision to file for Chapter 7 bankruptcy, however, has drawn criticism, with some arguing that it effectively paused the litigation and saved him a fortune in legal costs. Yet, regardless of whether or not his intentions were pure, the case was officially put to rest.

Following this bump in his career, Zakarian has gone on to enjoy relative success. He continued to expand his restaurant business, even going on to open Tudor House in Miami later that year. His image as a TV personality also wasn't impacted, and in 2014, he became a co-host of the hit cooking show "The Kitchen," as well as retaining his position as a judge on the cooking competition "Chopped."

While the 2011 lawsuit didn't seem to hit Zakarian's business or media ventures too hard, it was quickly overshadowed by a much bigger lawsuit in 2015. That year, Zakarian had withdrawn from a deal to open a high-end restaurant in the Trump International Hotel in Washington, D.C. He cited comments made by then-presidential candidate Donald Trump about the Mexican community as the reason for his withdrawal, arguing that they would negatively impact the restaurant's potential success. In response, Trump filed a $14 million lawsuit against Zakarian, who subsequently countersued. Unfortunately, we are unlikely to ever know the outcome of this case, as both parties reached a confidential settlement in 2017.