Amy’s Baking Company claims sexual harassment by Gordon Ramsay
Oct 2, 2014, 6:20 PM | Updated: Oct 3, 2014, 4:04 pm
PHOENIX — The owners of Amy’s Baking Company claimed Thursday they were sexually harassed by celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay during a disastrous appearance on Fox’s “Kitchen Nightmares.”
The episode and alleged reactions from owners Amy and Samy Bouzaglo quickly went viral and garnered a lot of negative press for the Scottsdale, Ariz.-based eatery.
“Nobody has seen what led us up to that and the provocation,” Amy said.
While it was assumed in the episode that the Bouzaglos lost their patience with both Ramsay and customers alike, Samy said Thursday there was another reason they had not disclosed.
“The only thing that pissed me off is when he sexually harassed my wife in the kitchen.
“This is why I went crazy on him,” he said. “It’s the only reason. Not because he criticized my wife’s food; it’s a show. I asked him here to have his show. But when he tried to sexually harass my wife and accused me of stealing the tip, it’s finished.”
Neither of the Bouzaglos would say exactly what Ramsay — who has been linked to accusations of sexual harassment before but never charged with the crime — said or did to Amy, but Samy said it left his wife in tears. Samy also alleged that Ramsay repetitively asked Amy about Samy’s genitalia.
When asked, Amy refused to give details about the alleged incident.
“I don’t want to talk about him, to tell you the truth,” she said. “I think it’s best we move on from that.”
Samy echoed his wife’s sentiments.
“It was 18 months ago,” he said. “I think it’s time to forget about Gordon Ramsay and move forward.”
UPDATE: A spokesperson from Kitchen Nightmares sent the following statement to KTAR:
“The owners of Amy’s Baking Company continue to make baseless and inflammatory comments. These ridiculous accusations are completely untrue.”
KTAR’s Sandra Haros, Jordan Allen and Sonny Scott and the Associated Press contributed to this report.
