A New Year's Eve party that lasted until the early hours of the morning in the parking lot of a two-Michelin-star fine dining restaurant reportedly ended badly when the famous chef drunkenly knocked down an employee on Monday.
“A man was hit by a car while leaving the parking space reserved for restaurant staff. The victim's life was in danger and was immediately taken to hospital,” Antwerp prosecutor's office spokesman Kristof Aerts told Het Laatste Nieuws on Monday, according to Belgian media 7sur7.
It was early in the morning, between 6 and 7 a.m., when the police were called to the two-star restaurant “The Jane” in Antwerp, Belgium, where the driver of the vehicle, the renowned chef of establishment Nick Bril, was involved contacted the authorities themselves, the spokesman continued.
However, the 39-year-old Belgian chef, who was voted Chef of the Year by the French gastronomy guide Gault & Millau, was said to have tested positive for alcohol when the police arrived and his license would have been immediately revoked, the Belgian media said.
His car was also towed for investigation purposes, he added.
For his part, the chef's lawyer, Omar Souidi, would have made it clear that, according to 7sur7, the victim was an intern at the restaurant who originally came from the United Kingdom and had only been working at the restaurant for a few weeks.
“The events took place after a New Year’s Eve party at Jane. From the images, the police could see that the man was already on the ground [au moment de la collision]“However, he clarified and added that the circumstances still need to be clarified.