A Sacramento-based Michelin-starred chef and restaurateur is going through a wave of accusations from former staff as he prepares to broaden his restaurant empire in California’s capital.
Chris Barnum-Dann, proprietor of the acclaimed Localis and Betty Wine Bar + Bistro, has been accused in a string of social media posts of misbehaviors together with sexual harassment, belittlement, verbally abusing and belittling employees, paranoid habits and wage theft spanning greater than a decade.
The claims first surfaced in March on Reddit boards earlier than spreading to Instagram, with many former staff reportedly leaving as a result of “sexual harassment,” as reported by The Sacramento Bee.
“Former worker right here. All need to say is that I’ve been ready to see this man get what he deserves for years,” one poster wrote on the Reddit thread.
“It’s been excruciating to observe him get so many accolades and awards whereas realizing what a fraud and an entire POS he really is.
“Chris is abusive, hateful, narcissistic, most likely a drug addict – however positively an entire creep. He sexually harassed me and others day by day whereas I labored there,” they added.
One other particular person claiming to be a former worker responded within the thread with their very own accusations of office misconduct, writing, “Wage Theft & Labor Violations -Denied legally required breaks -Manipulated or diminished additional time pay – Withheld suggestions or misrepresented them as gratuity – Money suggestions had been routinely taken and never distributed to employees.”
The allegations gained traction after Barnum-Dann introduced plans to open 4 new spots in Sacramento.
Localis, which launched in 2015, has held a Michelin star since 2022, and Barnum-Dann was named Michelin’s California 2025 Sommelier Award winner.
In a public Instagram assertion, with feedback disabled, Barnum-Dann expressed remorse for any hurt he might have brought about though he didn’t explicitly tackle the allegations leveled at him.
“I’m conscious of considerations and claims which have been raised and please know I take them significantly,” he posted in a sequence of slides, including, “Out of respect for everybody concerned, I’m taking time to hear, pray, and search acceptable steerage in order that I can reply thoughtfully and responsibly.”
Barnum-Dann has denied the sexual harassment allegations. “These accusations are merely not true,” he wrote in an announcement to native Sacramento outlet Abridged.
“The people who’re accusing me of sexual harassment have been spreading these items and worse since our employer-employee relationships soured for varied causes years in the past,” he added.
This newest Sacramento controversy provides to ongoing scrutiny of fine-dining office tradition in California and past.
In a equally high-profile case earlier this yr, world-renowned chef René Redzepi resigned from his landmark Copenhagen restaurant Noma after dozens of former employees accused him of bodily and verbal abuse, together with punching staff, jabbing them with kitchen instruments, and fostering a poisonous tradition of lengthy hours and mistreatment.
The scandal erupted amid Noma’s lavish Los Angeles pop-up, sparking protests, sponsor pullouts, and a broader trade dialog about abusive kitchen environments.
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