Belgian chef Arnaud Delvenne held in police custody for violence against partner
The finalist of Top Chef 2022 was held in police custody at the end of August, suspected of violence against his partner during an alcohol-fuelled evening. The custody ended on 25 August.
Arnaud Delvenne held in police custody following alleged violence against partner
Arnaud Delvenne, a 40-year-old Belgian chef and finalist of Top Chef in 2022, was held in police custody at the end of August by the Nanterre public prosecutor's office, according to DHnet. He is suspected of having struck his partner during the night of 20 to 21 August, during an alcohol-fuelled evening in which a fight allegedly broke out between several people.
It was a neighbour who alerted the authorities after an alarm was triggered at the chef's home, located in Hauts-de-Seine. Upon arrival, police did not find any burglars but a man with a swollen face. He explained to them that he had activated the alarm himself to try to escape his attackers and obtain assistance. He stated that he had received blows from Delvenne, as well as threats from another person present at the scene.
According to Le Parisien, cited by DHnet, the police custody of the Belgian chef ended on 25 August. The newspaper states that it does not know what legal proceedings were initiated in this matter.
These incidents occurred as Delvenne was already being accused by a former kitchen commis of moral and sexual harassment. At the end of August, he had publicly acknowledged these accusations on social media. "There is fault, clearly. And perhaps I am not made to lead a kitchen. But I can only do this," he wrote. He also announced that he was temporarily withdrawing from Instagram and setting aside his knives: "After a few years of hard work, it is time for me to focus on what is essential… My private life and my health."
Arnaud Delvenne is also known to the Belgian public as a former juror on the programme La meilleure friterie on RTL-tvi, and as chef at the head of Bistrots Pas Parisiens.
Source: DHnet