An award-winning chef at a luxury hotel in Biarritz, south-west France, has been sacked after a “disturbing incident”, the Hyatt Group said today, with local newspapers reporting a “humiliating slur” by a kitchen worker, which was caught on video.

The prosecutor’s office of this city, which is located near Bayonne, although it has not received any complaint so far, has opened a preliminary investigation into sexual assault and violence.

According to Sud Ouest newspaper, chef Aurelien Larzo, 31, was fired on December 21. He had been hired in 2020 as head of the restaurant at the five-star Hôtel du Palais. Since last year the restaurant has been awarded a Michelin star. According to the publication, the incident occurred on the morning of December 2, in the kitchen area. For many hours, a young worker was tied, naked, to a chair, with an apple in his mouth and a carrot between his thighs, in front of the other cooks, in the presence of Larzo. Videos taken and posted on social networking sites have now been deleted.

“The management of the Hôtel du Palais has been informed of the disturbing incident that took place on the premises of the hotel and of the images that have been released,” a spokeswoman for the Hyatt group, which owns the hotel, told AFP. “This episode does not reflect the values ​​we are fighting for. An investigation was conducted and appropriate decisions were made. The safety, health and well-being of our colleagues, customers and partners is our absolute priority,” he added, without further comment.