Boston Chef Barbara Lynch Accused Of Workplace Abuse: Report

BOSTON, MA — Barbara Lynch has spent two and a half decades as one of the most acclaimed chefs in Boston and across the country. But according to accounts obtained by The New York Times, which spoke to many of Lynch's former staff, Lynch is not the person she portrays.

A James Beard award winner and philanthropist, Lynch shared her life story in her 2017 memoir, detailing her violent childhood as a Southie who narrowly escaped arrest multiple times for "boosting anything on four wheels, petty theft, drinking and doing drugs" before her "remarkable process of self-invention."

According to those who work closely with the culinary star and spoke with the Times, the modern-day Barbara Lynch public persona is at odds with the true Lynch, who they say hurls violent threats at employees in drunken rages and is known for impulsive firings — "an open secret among hospitality workers" for decades.

The publication shares accounts of a meeting between Lynch and two dozen employees on March 15—two months after the fentanyl overdose of their head chef, Rye Crofter, and the same day they'd learned a young line cook who Crofter had mentored had died in the same way. The employees hoped for support and a morale boost, but Lynch instead "delivered outrage and self-pity, in an expletive-laced confrontation" shared in a recording with the Times.

According to the Times, when a frustrated Tim Dearing, who had taken over as the restaurant’s lead chef, pointed out that Lynch had not visited the kitchen after Crofter died, she fired him on the spot.

"When he responded that he would 'drag' her — damage her reputation — Ms. Lynch threatened to push his head through a window," the Times reported. A string of resignations followed.

Employees also claim that Lynch "has subjected employees to unwanted propositions and touching" and that since Lynch owns most of her restaurants, employees feel is no opportunity to facilitate change except to go public with their experiences, according to the Times.

Michaela Horan, who was hired as the manager of the Butcher Shop in August 2018, described to the outlet scenarios in which Lynch "sent out barely cooked chicken, threatened staff members with knives and threw away orders when she fell behind," the Times reported.

In a June 2021 incident that proved to be the final straw for Horan, the manager allowed a table to order appetizers "without committing to entrees," after which "Lynch stormed up from the kitchen, repeatedly prodded her shoulder to get her attention and dragged her out from behind the bar in the crowded dining room," Horan said. She resigned immediately.

In a statement shared with the Times Wednesday, Lynch categorically denied the allegations, saying “I expressly reject the various false accusations lodged against me that I have behaved inappropriately with employees or crossed professional guideposts that are important to me."

“I acknowledge that I am a creature of the alcohol-steeped hospitality and restaurant industry,” Lynch continued. “And I am committed to taking responsibility and working on myself.”

Read the full report, which contains all the allegations, at The New York Times.