Defiant Grossi addresses staff after allegations of inappropriate behaviour

Celebrity chef Guy Grossi has told staff that “some c---s” were making it hard for him to enjoy his work following allegations of inappropriate behaviour against him and his restaurants as he encouraged his team to stick together until the “shitstorm” passes.

After reporting by this masthead of allegations of sexual harassment and discrimination in Grossi Group restaurants, staff were called to an emergency meeting in the Wynn room, the fine dining room in Grossi Florentino overlooking Bourke Street, on Saturday afternoon.

Celebrity chef Guy Grossi in March last year.Credit: Chris Hopkins

This masthead’s months-long investigation revealed two women alleged Guy Grossi groped their breasts at an industry event in 2022. He apologised to one woman, while denying the allegation, and admitted the second allegation, but said it was an accident that occurred after he was “inadvertently bumped from behind and propelled forward”.

This masthead’s investigation interviewed more than 30 former staff at Grossi restaurants around the country, and revealed allegations of a culture of sexism and sexual harassment of female employees across restaurants where some complaints from staff went nowhere.

“In light of the recent articles published we would like to gather in unity at 2.30pm to bring everyone together to hear from the family,” stated the meeting invitation issued to staff on Saturday morning.

“Our team is always our priority and we are devastated. This is not a true reflection of our family, our business or our culture.”

About 25 staff members attended the meeting, where Grossi and his sister, Liz Rodriguez, addressed the room, flanked by media and communications specialists.

At first, Grossi read from a prepared statement to address some of what he said were “negative things” reported in the media. There were no questions and Grossi’s wife, Melissa, was not present.

Grossi told the meeting that the reporting had upset the family, and that the family respected the company’s staff.

He took aim at the reporting in this masthead describing the coverage as “manufactured and contrived”, and also admitted there were ways that any business could improve.

“We know that we’re not perfect,” he told the meeting.

Staff were given instructions about how to handle requests from the media, or public, about the allegations. A document titled “Customer and Media Management”, obtained by this masthead, told staff to deliver prepared lines such as “Guy and the family are very upset” or, “I’m not in a position to make any comment on this. I’m here to serve you”. They were instructed to refer queries to management.

After about 10 minutes of reading from the prepared statement, Grossi went off-script.

“I actually love coming to work each day. It’s just some c---s out there … make it hard,” he said.

He implored staff to stick together through the “shitstorm”, and told them they would then rise like an eagle and fly again.

Rodriguez, Grossi’s sister and restaurant manager, told staff that the scandal had taken considerable time to manage and described the reporting as “rubbish”.

Rodriguez said she wanted to focus on the future.

Grossi declined a request for an interview to answer questions about his use of language in the staff meeting or whether his comments contradicted his prior public apology.

His lawyers did not respond to specific questions, but issued a statement from Grossi saying the meeting was called “because I wanted to address them personally and directly about what was going on”.

“It was a highly emotional meeting, and I did use strong language. It was not in reference to any individual.

“At no point in the meeting were any individuals or claims in the articles referred to directly or singled out.

“Our focus remains on providing good hospitality, a safe workplace and high-quality food and wine.”

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