East Austin 'Top Chef' Arrested Amid Domestic Abuse Allegations

EAST AUSTIN, TX -- Austin’s “top chef” Paul Qui is in hot water after being arrested this weekend for allegedly assaulting his girlfriend.

Police responded to an East Austin apartment right before 8 a.m. on Saturday after receiving a call from a Qui acquaintance to report Qui and his girlfriend were fighting, KXAN-TV reports.

When police arrived, they heard screaming and shouting emerging from Qui’s apartment before the 31-year-old chef opened the door.

Qui operates a namesake restaurant at 1600 E. 6th Street in one of the trendiest parts of the city. The diner capitalizes on his well-known name in culinary circles following his win on a cable television cooking show four years ago.

The Qui restaurant was closed on Monday with a notice on the website indicating it would reopen Tuesday, although it's unknown if the closure was attributable to Qui the chef's rough weekend.

In an arrest affidavit, police report that Qui had “....blood all over his face, arms, legs and clothing.” A woman inside the apartment was crying while clutching a child, surrounding her a dwelling in disarray and furniture strewn about, broken glass fragments and blood smeared on the walls and floor, police said.

Qui “...is very controlling and extremely jealous,” the woman is said to have told police, according to the affidavit.

The woman told police she had gone asleep with her son when Qui and his friends arrived to partake in drugs and alcohol before waking her up to join the party. She agreed to partake, the affidavit reflects her telling the police.

That’s when things got heated. She said an intoxicated Qui started to accused his friends of flirting with her and kicked them out of his apartment as a result. After their departure, Qui became enraged throwing furniture around and breaking glass, according to the affidavit.

The victim said she tried to leave the apartment with her son, only to have Qui block the door to prevent her exit. He then is alleged to have forcibly pushed her and her son away from the door.

After that, Qui allegedly picked the female victim up and started throwing her against the walls and doors of the apartment.

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Something of a local celebrity, Qui in 2012, Qui won Season 9 of Bravo’s Top Chef. He currently runs his eponymous restaurant, Qui, on East Sixth Street

"The show revealed Qui as curious, daring, playful, earnest, passionate and grounded," the Austin American-Statesman gushed in a September 2015 profile via its Austin 360 blog. "Those same qualities are showcased in his eponymous restaurant. The kitchen builds beautiful and compelling dishes, utilizing precise technique on display in the open kitchen."