Sophia Michaels
been on strike this summer as they aim for better pay and benefits.
A source tells us that on Tuesday Tesar approached picketers and broke a drum that one of the workers was holding.
“Take your union and shove it up your ass,” he is heard yelling on video. “Suck my d–k.”
Tesar continued yelling, “You are a bad person. You’re a bad person” and “You’re a lazy pendeja.”
A source tells us that Tesar had become upset due to the noise of the protest.
“There was drumming and chanting,” says a source. “He was complaining about the noise and [was] really angry.”
According to the source, “John came out with a metal kitchen spoon and hit the drum and broke it. That’s when people started videoing [him].”
Tesar has since been 86’d from the property.
A hotel spokesperson tells us, “We have zero tolerance for violence of any kind. The actions and behavior of Mr. Tesar are not reflective of our values or our commitment to fostering a positive and safe work environment for all associates. We immediately removed Mr. Tesar from the property and are examining appropriate next steps.”
Tesar has not responded to a request for comment.
Late chef and TV host Anthony Bourdain wrote of Tesar in his book, “Medium Raw,” that he was “probably the single most talented cook I ever worked with—and the most inspiring.”
But he went on to say of the hot-headed toque, “Tesar pretty much wrote the book on this behavior pattern: finding a way to f–k up badly whenever success threatens, accompanied by a countervailing ability to bounce back again and again—or, at the very least, survive.”
He was a James Beard Foundation semifinalist at the restaurant Dallas Spoon Bar & Kitchen and created a rehearsal dinner for Tommy Mottola and Mariah Carey when the power couple married in 1993.
Tesar’s previous tenure at Texas restaurant The Mansion was cut short in 2009 after 20 employees complained about his behavior, including one who accused him of calling him, “tall, fat, and stupid,” and, “the laziest Colombian I have ever seen! ”
Tesar denied he was fired, and said he left for financial reasons.
In a past article in D magazine “The Most Hated Chef in Dallas,” he responded to the allegations, claiming he told management his comments were jokes, and that, “I said, ‘I said all of them.’ That’s what — we joke around. But that’s the absurdity. It’s out of context. That was my defense.”
He is also quoted in the 2011 article as saying, “Employees are thinking I’m their worst nightmare because I’m going to make them work and I’m going to tell [human resources], like, ‘Jose fell asleep.’ They hired this guy for $9 an hour… And every job he’s ever had he’s had someone fired. He’s a 300-pound Colombian and very unhappy.”
(The man who complained was not named Jose, but Diego Trujillo.)
In April 2022, Tesar was kicked off Twitter. “[Hannity] sent an anti-vax tweet,” he told the Dallas News. “So I said, ‘If you feel that way about vaccinations, I hope you get the mumps, the measles and the clap.’ I didn’t realize if you wish something upon somebody, it’s considered a threat.”
