One chef in Dusseldorf, Germany, managed to alienate many customers before a single post-lockdown meal was served.

Chef Jean-Claude Bourgueil, the French chef at Im Schimmchen, posted a message on his personal Facebook page last week that angered critics who called his words “sickening,” Deutsche Welle reports.

The 73-year-old chief wrote: “We start on Friday, but only with our bistro. No Chinese wanted!!!” The irony is that Dusseldorf has a substantial Asian population, and disappointingly cities across the country have seen a rise in anti-Asian racism since the start of the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic.

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Chef Bourgueil removed the post later, claiming he had been misunderstood.

Bourgueil clarified he wasn’t speaking to Chinese people in general, but to the “strongmen” that rule the country, Westdeutsche Zeitung reports.

Bourgueil posted the following statement on the restaurant’s official Facebook page. “I am a child of the French revolution and detest all dictators in this world. Dictators that oppress their citizens and punish people with death. People of nine different nationalities work at our restaurant. My wife is Asian, and I am a foreigner in this land.”

“Rest assured, I can be accused of many things, but certainly not racism, and I do not tolerate it,” he added.

 

 

This piece was written by Wayne Dupree on May 17, 2020. It originally appeared in WayneDupree.com and is used by permission.

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