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The Dagens ETC newspaper published an article by Christoffer Röstlund on Monday in which the women testified about how Stefano Catenacci sexually harassed his female staff for years.
On the same day, Expressen published a review of Karolina Skoglund with testimonies from a large number of former and current employees who also testified about various types of sexual harassment against women.
The women Expressen has been in contact with tell of sexually abusive text messages (including “cock pictures”) and groping.
One incident, which was reported for both Expressen and ETC, is where Stefano Catenacci is said to have bit a waitress on the chest in the middle of the work shift. The woman is said to have stopped after a meeting outside the restaurant, where it was agreed to keep quiet.
The testimonies of women refer to a period of approximately ten years in which a clear reduction was felt relative to the Fall 2017 Metoo.
Those who were exposed generally did not dare to say no, as it was a feather in their cap to work with Catenacci and they feared their careers would be damaged. One woman said Catenacci grabbed her breasts and then threatened to report him to the police. He then sent her a message that said something like, “I’m sorry you feel this way” and said the woman had “misinterpreted my signals. She said the celebrity chef could mock her by asking, in front of others in the kitchen, if he could say hi to her without her reporting it to the police.
Despite the women’s description of Stefano Catenacci’s behavior, he was perceived by many as kind, happy and pleasant.
– The reason he came this far is probably precisely because you make friends with him at the same time. I don’t know how to explain it, because it is very rare. But you forgive him for liking me at the same time. And it always feels like you owe him something, one of the women told Expressen.
This week, Catenacci took time off of his assignments, and now says in an open letter that he will quit altogether.
“It is my responsibility to apologize to those who have felt that I have behaved inappropriately, but I also have an obligation to my family and my children to stand up for what is not true,” Catenacci wrote, denying the allegations. who claims that he allegedly sexually assaulted women who worked for him.
“I want to make it clear that the allegations that I have abused employees are not true. I strongly dispute these alleged facts. They have not occurred,” Catenacci writes in the letter published by DN.
One of Sweden’s most acclaimed star chefs
Stefano Catenacci has been one of Sweden’s most supported and acclaimed star chefs. As head chef at Operakällaren, he has ensured that the restaurant has received a star in the Michelin Guide.
He has held the title of court tractor and has been responsible for banquets and gala dinners organized at the Royal Palace.
He has been in charge of cooking the princesses’ wedding dinners and has had the full trust of the royal family.
– Of course we take very seriously what is written in the article, said the information manager of the court Margareta Thorgren to Expressen, after participating in the information of women.
Now he tells DN that Catenacci leaves the cellar of the opera and the role of court tractor:
– If the information is correct, I believe that their actions are the only correct thing, the person has a great responsibility in this story.
Employees who told Expressen and ETC how they were affected have worked within the Nobis hotel and restaurant group, which had sales of SEK 794 million in 2019, and where Stefano Catenacci himself is a partner.
“Choose to leave the opera cellar”
In the open letter on DN, Stefano Catenacci writes:
“I have worked at Operakällaren for thirty years and it is a place and a job that I love. After the posts of the last week, it is with great sadness that I choose to leave the cellar of the opera and the role of the court tractor. Since the informants are anonymous, I have no opportunity to respond to their accusations. I am desperate and sad, for me and for my family. Now is the time for the investigation. “
During the week, Expressen contacted Stefano Catenacci with questions about the allegations of the many women at Dagens ETC and the Expressen review.
Attorney Hanna Lindblom now represents Stefano Catenacci. She responds Sunday night that he advised her to report the slander to the police after the investigations and the women’s stories.
– The reason I gave you the advice to report ETC and Expressen to the police is that I am awaiting a trial in court on media liability. It is also precisely in court where I would like the employees of the opera cellar not to appear in the brochures of the evening newspapers, says Hanna Lindblom.
One of the women in the review, “Mia,” comments on the celebrity chef’s Expressen open letter.
– Stefano apologizes if women perceived his behavior as inappropriate. It is sad that this is what it takes for a man in Sweden to reflect on his actions. Or is an apology and investigation the easiest way for a man to escape the consequences that this behavior must face?
Opera Cellar CEO Abbe Ibrahim commented on the information about Catenacci the day after the criticism.
“These are serious accusations that have been leveled at Opera Cellar as an employer and workplace,” Abbot Ibrahim told Expressen.
On Sunday evening, Matilda Sjöberg, a press contact at Nobis Hospitality Group, which owns Operakällaren, asked to be allowed to return on Monday regarding Stefano Catenacci’s open letter on DN.
