Laurie Woolever

Over the course of being Tony's assistant, which was just under a decade, I definitely found that I was getting more and more opportunities. As Tony's star rose, he got busier and busier, and I was very valuable to him as an assistant, as an administrator. But he also knew that I wanted to be a writer.

Over the course of being Tony's assistant, which was just under a decade, I definitely found that I was getting more and more opportunities. As Tony's star rose, he got busier and busier, and I was very valuable to him as an assistant, as an administrator. But he also knew that I wanted to be a writer.

And so he started to give me opportunities to get involved with things that were more gratifying to me intellectually. I did some line editing on some of the books that he published on his imprint. And then we ended up writing a cookbook together called Appetites that came out in 2016.

And so he started to give me opportunities to get involved with things that were more gratifying to me intellectually. I did some line editing on some of the books that he published on his imprint. And then we ended up writing a cookbook together called Appetites that came out in 2016.

So as time went on, I continued to get more and more responsibility to collaborate and to work with him on exciting creative projects.

So as time went on, I continued to get more and more responsibility to collaborate and to work with him on exciting creative projects.

I had mixed feelings about it. It felt a little jarring and slightly unfair to have to take any responsibility for... harassment and alleged abuse and things that I didn't really feel that I had any part in. Where I landed on it ultimately was that I was part of a culture in which this was very, very normalized.

I had mixed feelings about it. It felt a little jarring and slightly unfair to have to take any responsibility for... harassment and alleged abuse and things that I didn't really feel that I had any part in. Where I landed on it ultimately was that I was part of a culture in which this was very, very normalized.

And as much as it's not okay to be touched inappropriately at work or to be ever to be abused or assaulted in any way, It was the lower end of things. This was kind of normalized in the late 1990s and early 2000s when I was working around him. And so I had to look at my part in it, look at the part that I played in not more vocally pushing back, but also...

And as much as it's not okay to be touched inappropriately at work or to be ever to be abused or assaulted in any way, It was the lower end of things. This was kind of normalized in the late 1990s and early 2000s when I was working around him. And so I had to look at my part in it, look at the part that I played in not more vocally pushing back, but also...

just recognize that none of these things happen in a vacuum and it's not really black and white. And as much as I benefited from being around Mario and having access to some of those channels of power, that it was also ultimately kind of a toxic environment that I spent many years in. So it was a complicated kind of personal reckoning.

just recognize that none of these things happen in a vacuum and it's not really black and white. And as much as I benefited from being around Mario and having access to some of those channels of power, that it was also ultimately kind of a toxic environment that I spent many years in. So it was a complicated kind of personal reckoning.

I can only speak to my own experience in terms of kitchens where I haven't really been in kitchens in a long time. Women made up probably half the kitchen staff or a little less than half the kitchen staff when I worked at Babo. So it wasn't that we weren't necessarily invited or included, but that you had to work a little bit harder or maybe a lot harder to prove that you deserve to be there.

I can only speak to my own experience in terms of kitchens where I haven't really been in kitchens in a long time. Women made up probably half the kitchen staff or a little less than half the kitchen staff when I worked at Babo. So it wasn't that we weren't necessarily invited or included, but that you had to work a little bit harder or maybe a lot harder to prove that you deserve to be there.

My understanding now from speaking to chefs who are still active in kitchens and speaking to cooks and people in the industry is that there have been some changes. It's not completely linear. And I think there probably will be ebbs and flows of progress and regression. But I think that.

My understanding now from speaking to chefs who are still active in kitchens and speaking to cooks and people in the industry is that there have been some changes. It's not completely linear. And I think there probably will be ebbs and flows of progress and regression. But I think that.

Many restaurateurs got scared in 2017 and thought about how do we put some structures in place in the workplace to prevent things like this from happening and or to have a way to react in a cohesive way if someone does have a complaint. So I think you see more HR structure, just more supports, more communication between management and employees. But it is what it is.

Many restaurateurs got scared in 2017 and thought about how do we put some structures in place in the workplace to prevent things like this from happening and or to have a way to react in a cohesive way if someone does have a complaint. So I think you see more HR structure, just more supports, more communication between management and employees. But it is what it is.

As they say, people are people. Stress is stress. Relations between men and women are what they are. And I think there always will be sort of a looser environment than maybe in an office or another type of workplace. But I do believe that there have been some changes.

As they say, people are people. Stress is stress. Relations between men and women are what they are. And I think there always will be sort of a looser environment than maybe in an office or another type of workplace. But I do believe that there have been some changes.