Celebrity chefs are ever-present in today's entertainment world.
But it's not uncommon to see them come and go in the blink of an eye.
While some culinary stars were happy to step away from the spotlight,
others faced a tragic end. Here are the real reasons these celebrity chefs disappeared.
"Bam! Bam! Bam! Bam! Just like that!"
Emeril Lagasse rose to fame in the '90s, when a series of successful restaurants and books — as
well as his popular Food Network show "The Essence of Emeril" — turned him into a household name. He
was a seemingly unbeatable pop culture fixture until Food Network effectively kicked him down
a notch in 2007. The cancellation of the chef's other popular show, "Emeril Live," was hardly a
knockout punch, but by the mid-2010s, even his business empire had started to feel the heat,
courtesy of the recession. Lagasse noted the dire situation in 2015, revealing via The Week,
"I have nowhere to go, really — other than broke."
"Maybe a little more rosé."
In 2008, Lagasse sold his entire brand — except for his restaurants — to none other than Martha
Stewart Living Omnimedia for a total sum of $50 million, according to The Seattle Times. But the
chef hasn't been entirely out of view since the deal. He's made a few TV appearances in guest
judge roles, interviews, and the like. And he's deeply involved in philanthropic efforts,
like his Emeril Lagasse Foundation, which he founded with his wife Alden,
in 2002. But while he may be advocating for the next generation of culinary stars,
it appears his days in the ever-present limelight are likely over.
Gordon Ramsay's mentor, Marco Pierre White, went on to both feud with his famous pupil and hate on
his own early fame, according to the Guardian. The photos in the chef's iconic 1990 cookbook,
"White Heat," made him look like a rock star — and pretty much invented the concept of the
rude-and-cool celebrity chef. And the fact that, back in the day, he was the youngest
three-Michelin-star chef — at age 32 — didn't exactly hurt his street cred, either. But by 2015,
White was done with pretty much everything about fame and celebrity. He told the New York Times,
"When I see those pictures [in 'White Heat'], I just see that I was very unhappy and in great
pain. That's the only emotional impact it has on me today. Work was a painkiller;
it was where I hid. I was very young, and all of a sudden one day the world
descended on me. Today, I turn down 90 percent of interviews. It doesn't do anything for me."
"When you eat, it's not just food. It's about the emotional impact it has on you."
According to Gentleman's Journal in 2021, he now seems content in his role
as a reclusive elder statesman. While he still has food-adjacent business interests,
and makes some very rare TV appearances, it seems that the chef is happy with his
self-imposed exile from the "celebrity" part of the gig.
"Guilty pleasure?"
"I feel no guilt about pleasure…that said, Doritos."
Mario Batali has been a constant in the celebrity chef scene ever since Food
Network's "Molto Mario" hit the air in 1996. As one of the most immediately recognizable
famous chefs around — thanks to those orange Crocs — he reaped fame and glory for decades.
That is, until the Me Too movement finally caught up with him.
In 2017, Eater reported that Batali had a history of "inappropriate touching" that can be traced
back at least 20 years — and that four women had made misconduct allegations against the chef.
According to the Chicago Tribune, this started a chain of events that shut Batali out of the
Batali & Bastianich Hospitality Group, slapped him with criminal charges, and led to many other
women coming forward with their own experiences. In other words, Molto Mario probably won't be
returning any time soon. And the chef's legacy is taking hit after hit, too. Most recently,
Grub Street reported in April 2021 that his former company's legendary restaurant, Del Posto,
had been purchased by a group that includes restaurateur Jeff Katz, and will be turned into
a set of three eateries that, presumably, have as little to do with Batali as humanly possible.
Befitting Batali's current reputation within the industry,
Katz announced the ownership development with a visual of burning sage in the
premises — a ritual that supposedly cleanses a space of negative energy.
"MasterChef Australia" aired Season 13 in 2021. But the judges who have been mentoring
the latest batch of competitors haven't been in the "MasterChef" game as long as
the show has been on the air. In fact, it's the sophomore season for the team of Andy Allen,
Melissa Leong, and Jock Zonfrillo. And, of course, the switch-up wasn't without a scandal.
"That is delicious."
The original judges of the show — chefs George Calombaris,
Gary Mehigan, and food critic Matt Preston — abruptly left the series in 2019, amidst
a wage underpayment scandal involving Calombaris' restaurants, according to the Guardian. However,
that particular situation apparently didn't factor in the judges' decision to walk.
Instead, it appears that negotiations fell through. A Network 10 representative commented,
"We've been in negotiation with the three guys for a number of months,
so this is not about George. The reality is that we couldn't meet the demands of the three judges."
So, at least officially, they did leave because of an underpayment issue — just not
the one you might have assumed. Mehigan and Preston have since resurfaced in a new show
called "Plate of Origin." But Calombaris, on the other hand, has been less fortunate.
A major tourism campaign severed ties with him after the scandal broke,
and his restaurant empire went bankrupt in 2020, according to ABC News Australia.
"When there's something wonderful to be done, if you're not right there with me,
then get out of the [chopping] way."
Celebrity chef Jeremiah Tower lived the kind of life that inspired Anthony Bourdain to
make a documentary about it; 2017's "The Last Magnificent." An old-schooler who got into the
game back in the '70s, Tower can be considered an absolute pioneer of his profession — and one
of the most influential chefs behind what's now known as California Cuisine, according to GQ.
But despite his peerless skills and influence, one of the best-known things about Tower is the
time when he walked away from cooking in the '90s, opting to move to Mexico and fade away
from the limelight, after seemingly growing wary of big cities. He said,
"I came to New York and did a couple of cookbooks and some PBS shows, and then,
9/11 [happened]. There had already been the earthquake [in San Francisco in 1989]
and then terrorists, so I thought I had better go someplace where there are no hurricanes or
earthquakes or terrorists, so I went to Mexico, to the beach. But part of it was, I want to be alone,
I want to be left alone, as Greta Garbo truly said."
Tower hasn't really reemerged since, though he has made a small handful of TV
appearances. And in 2015, he did a very brief stint at Tavern on the Green
in New York City, to less than enthusiastic reviews.
Canadian celebrity chef Jonathan Gushue holds the distinction of disappearing
twice. According to NUVO Magazine, Gushue made his name at Langdon Hall Country House
Hotel in Ontario. But while his food was highly esteemed, the biggest headlines he made were for
a very different reason. According to The Star, on December 29th, 2012, he left Langdon Hall,
and wasn't found until January 10th, 2013 ... in an entirely different part of Canada.
The now sober chef has claimed that addiction was the reason for the incident.
Fortunately, his second "disappearance" was a much healthier one. According to Vacay,
in 2018 he decided to leave Ontario behind, and relocated to Newfoundland & Labrador to take a
job as executive chef of Fogo Island Inn. While it appears he's more recently left the Inn and moved
on to Elora Mill Hotel & Spa, as of late 2020, the chef once said of his time on Fogo Island,
"It's more than [a dream job]. This is an opportunity for me to spread my culinary wings.
It's more than making great meals and winning an award."
If you or anyone you know is struggling with addiction issues,
help is available. Visit the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration
website or contact SAMHSA's National Helpline at 1-800-662-HELP (4357).