Under investigation for domestic violence, the Michelin-starred chef has announced that he is taking a break from his professional collaborations, a move confirmed by the Hôtel Martinez in Cannes and the Hôtel Plaza Athénée.
Jean Imbert’s star has been significantly tarnished in recent months.
The subject of an investigation for “domestic violence,” the 44-year-old chef, who rose to fame in 2012 thanks to the TV show Top Chef, announced in an Instagram post at the end of August that he would be stepping back from the establishments where he worked “while the justice system does its work.”
Confirmation from the Hôtel Martinez and the Plaza Athénée
Owned by the Qatari group Constellation Hotels Holdings, the Hôtel Martinez in Cannes, for which Jean Imbert was the culinary director of various restaurants, including La Palme d’Or, confirmed that these restaurants would continue to operate under the leadership of executive chef Alexandre Elia.
For its part, Dorchester Collection explained in a statement that Jean Imbert had “temporarily stepped down from his role as consultant at the Hôtel Plaza Athénée,” a subsidiary of the group.
Since 2021, he had been the head chef at the establishment, where he had succeeded Alain Ducasse, and earned a Michelin star in 2022. “In line with our company’s strong values and culture, we take the allegations in this case very seriously and are monitoring the situation closely,” said Dorchester Collection, whose main shareholder is the Sultan of Brunei.
Numerous other collaborations
However, other companies with which Jean Imbert had established other collaborations or partnerships (such as Disneyland Hotel for La Forêt Secrète, a restaurant that opened in March 2025 in Marne la Vallée; Cheval Blanc (LVMH), as head of catering in Saint-Barthélemy; Dior (LVMH), where he designed Monsieur Dior, the restaurant at the flagship store at 32 Avenue Montaigne; Pharells Williams, for whom he opened restaurants in St Tropez, Miami, and Ibiza; the hotel Le Brando (French Polynesia), where he manages the restaurants, The Lana (Dubai), where he is chef at the restaurant Riviera and the rooftop High Societé, the Logis Sainte Catherine at Mont Saint Michel, and Nespresso and Evian…) have not officially commented on the “affair.”
The scandal broke in April 2025 with the publication of an investigation by Elle. The women’s magazine collected testimonies from three of Jean Imbert’s ex-partners denouncing his violent behavior.
Former Miss France Alexandra Rosenfeld, who lived with the chef in 2013 and 2014, also spoke out on social media, then in early September on the set of Quotidien, the TMC television show. In addition to psychological abuse and harassment after their separation, she said her ex-partner had broken her nose with a headbutt.
A nightmare in the kitchen too?
But the climate of terror created by Jean Imbert in his private life may also extend to his professional life. On September 4, a former employee of the chef from 2013 to 2015 spoke on BFMTV about a climate of harassment and widespread violence towards all of his teams. Unable to tolerate this toxic environment any longer, he negotiated an agreement himself and left his position at the end of 2015.
Read also > Jean Imbert prepares to reopen the Cannes restaurant La Palme d’Or
Featured photo: © Hotel Martinez/Hyatt Group
