William Sitwell, the long-serving MasterChef guest judge and restaurant critic, has disclosed he was subjected to a stalking campaign by an enraged chef who took extreme exception to an unfavourable review.
The writer, who has featured on the BBC cooking programme for more than ten years, was bombarded with menacing messages that eventually led him to involve authorities.
Mr Sitwell made the revelations during an appearance on Vanessa Feltz’s Channel 5 talk show, describing how his sharp assessments of dining establishments have occasionally provoked hostile reactions from those on the receiving end of his criticism.
The chef responsible for the harassment launched a sustained campaign of intimidation through multiple channels of communication.
William Sitwell explained how he was stalked by a former chef
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Speaking to Ms Feltz, Mr Sitwell recounted the disturbing nature of the messages: “I was stalked by a chef who sent me texts, voicemails, emails, saying ‘Get used to having me in the back of your mind wherever you go, you know I’m on your tail, I’m going to find you, don’t walk down a street thinking you’re safe’, and all that sort of stuff.”
Ms Feltz was stunned by the admission and asked: “What was the thing he most disliked that you had said about his cooking or his restaurant?”
Mr Sitwell added: “I can’t remember, I think I said, I think I mistook some pebbles for lentils and swallowed those and I was quite cross about that.
“Generally, it was a catatrophicly overblown pointless dinner and I, actually, I did sort of look for a couple of positives, but it was mainly a good old drubbing.
He explained he called the police after the ordeal worried his wife
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“His reaction was extreme, and I actually discovered subsequently he had a record of going after people, but I mean I did call the police, my wife got paranoid, she saw someone in a white cape on the drive, and she thought it was him and I said no that’s the butcher!”
Mr Sitwell also revealed investigations uncovered the chef had a previous form for targeting others in a similarly aggressive fashion, suggesting a pattern of troubling behaviour.
In an interview with The Telegraph earlier this year, Mr Sitwell offered a candid assessment of his own professional conduct, acknowledging that his reviews have at times been “savage”.
The critic admitted he is now experiencing a “taste of my own medicine” as a result of his forthright approach to restaurant criticism.
The food critic has appeared on the BBC show multiple times
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BBC
Reflecting on the ordeal, he conceded his own advice had gone unheeded: “I always said negative reviews should be met with a cool head, not an explosive reaction. Unfortunately, I did not practise what I preached.
Mr Sitwell recognised his uncompromising style may have contributed to the intensity of the backlash he faced.
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