- After dinner for Princess Diana, Tim Mälzer quit his job.
Tim Mälzer reflects on his impressive career as a chef, TV personality, and cookbook author at the age of 53. In a recent "deep and clear" talk with NDR, he revealed some unsavory experiences he faced, including an indirect role played by the former British royal couple, King Charles III and Lady Diana.
Tim Mälzer: Shocking Accounts in NDR Talk
In the talk with hosts Aminata Belli and Aurel Mertz, Mälzer spoke about shocking experiences he had before his big breakthrough as a TV chef and restaurant owner in the 1990s. After completing his training at the Hamburg InterContinental Hotel, he worked as a chef at the prestigious London Ritz Hotel. He quit the job relatively quickly due to inhumane working conditions and a dinner for the British royals.
In the NDR talk, Tim Mälzer revealed severe violence behind the scenes: "Someone was burned with a hot knife next to me because they didn't peel foie gras fast enough. I witnessed someone being kicked by six people because they were annoying us. We were racist, sexist, we were everything. It was horrible. We physically attacked people we thought were mentally inferior. I was an accomplice just by watching."
Resignation after Dinner for Lady Di and Prince Charles
The final straw was a dinner for the British royal family, "back when it was still Di and Charles and all that." After the intense cooking, the head "Pen Pusher" humiliated the head chef in front of everyone, reducing him to tears on the floor.
After this incident, Mälzer thought, "This is not my cup of tea." The next day, he went to the head chef and resigned. Mälzer then stayed in London for a short time, working for Italian culinary legend Gennaro Contaldo before returning to Germany to continue his career.
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In the revealing NDR talk, Tim Mälzer described a culture of severe violence and discrimination within the kitchen, including instances of physical abuse and racial and sexist slurs. This toxic environment ultimately led him to resign after a dinner for Lady Di and Prince Charles, where he witnessed humiliation and degradation of a fellow chef.
Faced with such inhumane treatment and a lack of respect in the high-pressure atmosphere of the Ritz Hotel, Tim Mälzer decided to leave his post and pursue his culinary career elsewhere.
