A Michelin-starred chef has resigned from his position at three popular San Francisco restaurants following a feud between himself and an influencer.
Geoffrey Lee resigned from his roles at Hamburger Project, Handroll Project and the Michelin-starred Jū-Ni following comments he made to influencer Kat Ensign.
Ensign, who goes by the online name @katwalksf, had shared a video online criticizing the quality of Hamburger Project’s food on her social media.
In it, she says she tried the food and decided it “wasn’t for me,” saying they needed time to “iron out the kinks.”
Lee decided to go after Ensign for her comments, which she then shared on her social media pages and quickly gained steam.
He sent her a message: ‘Because someone needs to tell you to grow up. It’s pathetic to be damn near 50 and try to influence things that are 20 years old, to try to maintain some kind of sense of relativity.
“All the chefs look down on it and one of us has to tell you.”
Other comments from him about Ensign have since appeared on social media, with one reading: “She’s so weird, it seems unstable.”
Geoffrey Lee resigned from his positions at Hamburger Project, Handroll Project and Jū-Ni following comments he made to influencer Kat Ensign.
Ensign, who goes by the online name @katwalksf, had shared a video online criticizing the quality of Hamburger Project’s food on her social media
Another said she “has the most annoying Karen voice” and said he wanted her to stop attending the Golden State Warriors game because they lost when she was there.
Ensign said The San Francisco Standard that two weeks after her original review of the burger restaurant, she noticed him commenting on her content.
She said: ‘It was random things on each post, responding to people’s comments – my weight, my appearance. Nothing about my experience (at Hamburger Project).”
When reached by The Standard, Lee said: “There have been allegations that I physically disgraced her. That’s completely made up so she can control the story.
Ensign said he sent the messages and then edited them before she could screenshot them.
She added, “He made a note of that, but he had his kid send me a voice memo.”
Lee added, “She came in the first three or four days after Hamburger Project was open and made a public review of the restaurant, insulting me a bit and calling them ‘Ozempic burgers’ because of clickbait.
“A few days later I said there are a lot of people who like it, and maybe you’re the only one who doesn’t?”
In it, she says she tried the food and decided it “wasn’t for me,” saying they needed time to “iron out the kinks.”
Since the video was widely shared online, Lee has adopted an apologetic tone.
He said: ‘Clearly my opinion does not match that of everyone else in the restaurant. When I made that comment, I was standing up for the rest of the team.”
Another content creator known as Maggie Z was also targeted by Lee after she shared the video criticizing his burger.
He wrote her: ‘I think influencer culture is one of the most vile in our community.”
Lee has since set his Instagram to private. All three restaurants have since been bombarded with one-star bar reviews online.
He added, “I I learned a lesson, I shouldn’t have responded. But I don’t believe my voice should be silenced just because I’m a chef.
“What I was trying to figure out is why this influencer is exempt from my criticism, but she is allowed to come into my home and restaurant to criticize my food.”
In a statement, his former employer said: “Geoffrey Lee is being relieved from his role as executive chef at Hamburger Project, Handroll Project and Jū-Ni with immediate effect.
Lee has since set his Instagram to private. All three restaurants have since been bombarded with one-star bar reviews online.
Lee decided to go after Ensign for her comments, which she then shared on her social media pages and quickly gained steam from
“Going forward, Geoffrey will no longer be involved in the operations of these restaurants. We have a zero tolerance policy for the behavior he has exhibited in recent weeks.
‘As a company we unequivocally condemn all forms of bullying and harassment, both online and in real life.
‘This behavior is in stark contrast to the values and culture we try to uphold in our companies.
“We want to make it clear that Geoffrey’s actions and opinions are his own and do not reflect the norms, culture and ethics of our companies.
“As a team, we adhere to a set of standards, including respect, kindness and empathy. Absolutely no one in our organization is exempt from these expectations.”