Top Chef Winner Gabe Erales Says He's 'Deeply and Sincerely Sorry' After Affair, Firing for Harassment Revealed

Dave Nemetz
·2 min read

Top Chef‘s latest winner Gabe Erales is offering a public apology, weeks after it was revealed he was fired from his restaurant for cutting a coworker’s hours after having an extramarital affair with her.

Erales, who was crowned the Season 18 winner of Bravo’s cooking competition earlier this month, posted a lengthy apology on Instagram on Friday, stating that “the last three weeks have been a trying time of reflection and personal growth… to say I am sorry that I let my family, friends, staff, supporters and my Top Chef family down may feel like an understatement at this moment, but it’s the first step and a genuine start on my road to making amends. Most importantly, I let the one person down who has always been by my side supporting my career and our family, my wife.”

More from TVLine

The day after Erales won Top Chef, a local Austin newspaper reported that he had been fired as executive chef of the restaurant Comedor weeks after the season had finished filming. According to the report, Erales, who is married with children, had a consensual affair with a coworker and later cut her work hours. The restaurant fired him for “repeated violations of the company’s ethics policy as it relates to harassment of women.” When the reports came to light, Top Chef co-host Padma Lakshmi called for a full investigation into the allegations, but added that the show wasn’t aware of them while filming. (Bravo hasn’t yet made a public statement about the controversy.)

In his apology, Erales admitted that “unbeknownst to my wife, I had a consensual relationship with a coworker and later reduced her work hours, which in combination was a poor judgment call and led to my termination.” He added that “I am deeply and sincerely sorry for the impact that my poor decisions had on those involved.”

Best of TVLine

Get more from TVLine.com: Follow us on Twitter, Facebook, Newsletter

  • Up next
  • Up next
  • Up next
  • Up next

Latest Stories

  • Searing heat shuts schools for 33 million children

    Bangladesh has closed schools and colleges due to extreme heat for the second year in a row.

  • Factbox-Italian tourist hotspots start to raise defences against overcrowding

    Venice became the first city in the world on Thursday to introduce a payment system for visitors in an experiment aimed at dissuading tourists from arriving during peak periods. However, it isn't the only place in Italy that has recently introduced new measures aimed at slowing tourist flows. The experiment came into force on April 25, a national holiday in Italy.

  • Anglo American shares soar on £31bn takeover approach from BHP

    The potential deal would create the world’s biggest copper miner, with around 10% of global output.

  • SNP and Scottish Greens power-sharing deal ends following climate target row

    The SNP and Scottish Greens power-sharing deal has formally ended following a row over a climbdown on climate targets, Sky News understands. It comes after First Minister Humza Yousaf summoned a meeting of his Cabinet - usually held on a Tuesday - this morning following speculation over the future of the Holyrood deal, first struck by his predecessor Nicola Sturgeon. There has been unhappiness in the Green Party after the Scottish government scrapped its commitment to cut emissions by 75% by 2030.

  • Windmill falls off the Moulin Rouge

    The sails of Paris’s Moulin Rouge windmill crashed to earth overnight in a freak accident that has never occurred since the cabaret club was founded in 1889.

  • Shawarma restaurant in Cairo brings taste of home for displaced Palestinians

    A Palestinian businessman displaced by the war in Gaza is bringing a taste of home for fellow refugees with a Shawarma restaurant he has opened in Cairo. Abu Al-Awn hopes his time outside Gaza will be temporary and he is determined to return to the enclave once the war between Israel and Hamas is over. Rimal was Gaza City's busiest shopping center, with large malls and main bank offices before Israeli forces reduced most of it to rubble.

  • SNP ends power-sharing deal with Scottish Greens over climate strategy, reports say

    Cabinet votes to leave historic Bute House agreement after government abandons emissions target

  • SNP 'scraps' power-sharing deal with Scottish Greens

    The SNP has scrapped its power-sharing deal with the Scottish Greens, according to reports. The Bute House Agreement was reportedly dropped following an emergency Cabinet meeting at Bute House in Edinburgh on Thursday morning. Scotland's First Minister Humza Yousaf had called the meeting of the Scottish cabinet following growing tensions between the SNP, which is the largest party at Holyrood, and the Scottish Greens, who are currently their junior partners in the Scottish Government.

  • FOREX-Yen hits fresh 34-year lows against dollar ahead of BOJ meeting

    The yen hit fresh 34-year low versus the dollar and a 16-year low against the euro on Thursday as investors expect a Bank of Japan policy meeting that ends on Friday not be hawkish enough to support the Japanese currency. "If they (Japanese authorities) don’t step in, the breach of the 155 level can attract speculative flows as markets expect intervention," said Athanasios Vamvakidis, global head of G10 forex strategy at BofA. "If they buy yen, pressures can still arise because many investors are waiting for intervention to sell the Japanese currency," he added, arguing that the yen could reach 160 even if there is intervention.

  • Kemi Badenoch says Humza Yousaf is being ‘too lazy’ to introduce legislation to exonerate Horizon victims

    Kemi Badenoch has accused Humza Yousaf’s government of being “too lazy to do the work” after the UK Government rejected his plea for Scotland to piggyback on its legislation exonerating the Horizon scandal victims.

  • Israel-Gaza – live: US demands ‘answers’ from Israel after mass graves found near hospitals

    The Israeli army said any suggestion of its responsibility for the mass graves was ‘baseless’ and ‘unfounded’

  • Ukraine-Russia war live: US-supplied long-range missiles ‘already hitting’ Putin’s forces after secret delivery

    The missiles were supplied to Ukraine under a secret deal agreed in March ahead of the £76bn US security package

  • US college protests - live: Texas students arrested and encampment erected at USC

    Over 100 students at NYU and Columbia have been arrested this past week over pro-Palestinian protest encampments

  • Predators, Canucks square off with series tied 1-1

    Vancouver Canucks (50-23-9, first in the Pacific Division) vs. Nashville Predators (47-30-5, fourth in the Central Division)Nashville, Tennessee; Friday, 7:30 p.m. EDTBETMGM SPORTSBOOK: LINE Predators -120, Canucks +100; over/under is 6NHL PLAYOFFS FIRST ROUND: Series tied 1-1BOTTOM LINE: The Nashville Predators and the Vancouver Canucks are in a 1-1 series tie in the first round of the NHL Playoffs. The teams meet Tuesday for the sixth time this season. The Predators won the previous meeting 4-

  • Kings, Oilers meet with series tied 1-1

    Edmonton Oilers (49-27-6, second in the Pacific Division) vs. Los Angeles Kings (44-27-11, third in the Pacific Division)Los Angeles; Friday, 10:30 p.m. EDTBETMGM SPORTSBOOK: LINE Oilers -128, Kings +108; over/under is 6.5NHL PLAYOFFS FIRST ROUND: Series tied 1-1BOTTOM LINE: The Los Angeles Kings host the Edmonton Oilers in game three of the first round of the NHL Playoffs with the series tied 1-1. The teams meet Wednesday for the seventh time this season. The Kings won 5-4 in overtime in the la

  • Avalanche, Jets square off with series tied 1-1

    Winnipeg Jets (52-24-6, second in the Central Division) vs. Colorado Avalanche (50-25-7, third in the Central Division)Denver; Friday, 10 p.m. EDTBETMGM SPORTSBOOK: LINE Avalanche -171, Jets +143; over/under is 6.5NHL PLAYOFFS FIRST ROUND: Series tied 1-1BOTTOM LINE: The Colorado Avalanche and the Winnipeg Jets are in a 1-1 series tie in the first round of the NHL Playoffs. The teams meet Tuesday for the sixth time this season. The Avalanche won the last meeting 5-2.Colorado has a 17-9-2 record

  • New York visits Washington with 2-0 series lead

    New York Rangers (55-23-4, first in the Metropolitan Division) vs. Washington Capitals (40-31-11, fourth in the Metropolitan Division)Washington; Friday, 7 p.m. EDTBETMGM SPORTSBOOK: LINE Rangers -172, Capitals +144; over/under is 5.5NHL PLAYOFFS FIRST ROUND: Rangers lead series 2-0BOTTOM LINE: The New York Rangers visit the Washington Capitals in the first round of the NHL Playoffs with a 2-0 lead in the series. The teams meet Tuesday for the seventh time this season. The Rangers won 4-3 in the

  • Hero teacher restrains teenage girl as stabbings send Welsh school into lockdown

    The girl was arrested on suspicion of attempted murder after the chaos erupted at the end of morning break at Amman Valley School on Wednesday.

  • FTSE 100 LIVE: London outshines European peers amid Anglo American takeover bid

    The FTSE 100 outperformed against its European peers on Thursday, hitting a new high for the third session in a row.

  • Seven teens with alleged 'extremist ideology' arrested in Sydney raids

    Police say they belong to the same network as the 16-year-old boy who allegedly attacked a church last week.