Dubai, Jun 13: Popular Indian origin Chef Atul Kochhar on Wednesday said he was ‘deeply upset’ by a Dubai hotel’s decision to cut ties with him, following his inflammatory tweet that caused outrage on social media amid accusations of racism, bigotry and Islamophobia.
“The decision by JW Marriott Marquis Dubai is deeply upsetting, however I fully accept the great pain I have caused and the difficult position the hotel has been put in,” he stated.
“I have great respect for JW Marriott and in particular their staff in Dubai and wish the hotel well for the future. I hope my friends and well-wishers in Dubai will forgive me and continue to support me in the future,” he continued.
The Michelin-starred chef operated the award-winning Rang Mahal Indian restaurant at Dubai’s JW Marriott Marquis Hotel.
On Tuesday, the hotel announced it had ended its agreement with Kochhar.
“Following the recent comments made by Chef Atul Kochhar, we have taken the decision to end our agreement with him for Rang Mahal. With the termination of our agreement, Chef Atul will no longer be associated with the restaurant,” Bill Keffer, General Manager of JW Marriott Marquis Hotel Dubai said in an emailed statement.
According to the hotel, the restaurant will continue to operate without the chef’s affiliation.
Earlier, the celebrity chef issued a second apology 48 hours after his inflammatory tweet to actress Priyanka Chopra. In a statement posted on his Twitter timeline, Kochhar reached out to his “Muslims friends” and the “Islamic community and everyone I have offended”, calling his words “insensitive and wrong.”
He further added: “My work and my restaurant are defined by a passion to unite cultures through food, love and understanding. I have let myself and my colleagues down. I am upset and sorry for the pain I have caused and ask for your forgiveness.”
Kochhar faced the wrath of social media users with a call to boycott his restaurants after he criticised Chopra on Twitter who had posted an apology of her own for offending her fans over a recent episode of her TV show Quantico that included an episode of Hindutva chauvinists plotting a terror attack in New York and blaming others.
In Kochhar’s now deleted tweet, the chef responding to Chopra’s mea culpa, writing: “It’s sad to see that you have not respected the sentiments of Hindus who have been terrorised by Islam over 2000 years. Shame on you.”
Following the swift online backlash, Kochhar retracted his tweet, calling it a “major error made in the heat of the moment,” while further adding: “I fully recognise my inaccuracies that Islam was founded around 1,400 years ago and I sincerely apologise. I am not Islamophobic, I deeply regret my comments that have offended many.”
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