.
“It was clear soon after starting in early December 2011 that his values did not align with the culture of Amisfield,” the manager says. “His behaviour towards myself and other staff members was not in keeping with the respectful yet fun environment we had created around the thriving bistro.”
Just over a month later, during Mabee’s 90-day trial period, the manager dismissed him because of their concerns about his behaviour towards other staff.
“There was no specific incident but it was just his general demeanour. His behaviour was beyond anything I’d ever seen, from anybody.”
Mabee left and Amisfield received a refund from the recruitment company that facilitated the initial hire.
The manager left not long after Mabee did, for unrelated reasons, to pursue other business opportunities.
In the first half of 2012, not long after the manager’s departure from Amisfield, Mabee was brought back to the business as executive chef, “much to the horror of the staff”.
“The owner, John Darby, was the person to rehire him and was fully aware of his dismissal and the reasons,” the former manager says.
Seeing Mabee be reinstated to the role as head of the kitchen was “distressing”. The former manager adds: “There’s no doubt in anybody’s mind that he’s a very clever chef. But his personality is not in check.”
At the weekend Newsroom told the story of Isabella Garland, who was 22 years old when she worked at Amisfield from October 2015 to June 2016. She says Mabee was “degrading” to front of house and kitchen staff during her time there; he made repeated comments about wanting to “f***” her” prompting her to lodge a formal harassment complaint that she believes was swept under the table.
Another hospitality industry figure, Katie Duncan, laid a complaint with Amisfield about Mabee’s behaviour in 2020, describing Mabee making offensive comments to her staff at an external event and telling her he had been “snorting lines in the bathroom”.
Following the same event, the co-owner of Christchurch restaurant Twenty Seven Steps contacted her wine distributor asking to drop Amisfield’s Riesling from her list. Emma Mettrick, who worked the event as a friend of Duncan’s, says her business has not stocked Amisfield wine since 2020.
“I am choosing to spend my small amount of purchasing power with people I know are good people. I am not saying Amisfield doesn’t have good people, but there is one in my opinion souring the ranks,” her email said at the time.
Mabee emailed Mettrick 18 months later to apologise for his “unacceptable behaviour” and share that he had been “sorting out myself as a person”.
Newsroom has spoken to more than a dozen others who allege they experienced aggressive or offensive behaviour and comments from Mabee while at work or during industry events. Several others raised concerns with management and the business’ owners.
Amisfield was founded in 1988 by prolific Queenstown property developer John Darby, who is listed as the director of more than a dozen other companies. Darby remains the sole director of Amisfield Wine Company; its sole shareholding company is Wyuna Trustees Limited.
TVNZ said it was assessing the screening of reality show A Taste of Art, which features Vaughan Mabee alongside Melissa Leong.
TVNZ
Just days ago Darby’s company Clearwater Land Holdings Ltd, which previously owned Christchurch’s Clearwater golf course was placed in liquidation for “restructuring purposes”.
A response from Darby to questions about complaints lodged against Mabee says: “Amisfield is aware of historical complaints from 2016 and 2022 involving Vaughan. At those times, the issues were investigated and resulted in formal written warnings. We clearly outlined that any further breach would result in dismissal.
“Following more recent complaints regarding Vaughan’s conduct, he was immediately removed from the workplace while an independent investigation was conducted. Following the conclusion of that investigation, Amisfield accepted Vaughan’s resignation in February, ending our professional relationship with him.
“We do not tolerate inappropriate behaviour of any kind, and all matters raised by staff are always fully investigated and followed up with appropriate action. While we operate in a high-pressure environment, we categorically reject outdated ideas that justify a toxic culture.
“Our focus is now entirely on supporting our staff and ensuring a safe, inclusive environment. We are deeply grateful to the staff members who came forward; their courage is essential to the positive transformation of our workplace.”
Mabee has not responded to Newsroom’s questions about the allegations.
However in a statement provided to media on Sunday, he “unreservedly apologised” to former colleagues, adding: “I would just hope that anyone who reads these articles will understand that I am a human.
“And take into account that those of us who strive for outrageous goals, sometimes have difficult journeys because of the stress and pressure that accompany those goals.”
Reacting to the news of complaints lodged against Mabee, food and hospitality collective Eat NZ posted on social media on Monday: “We want to be very clear… Any kitchen we’re made aware of that has a toxic culture will not be platformed, promoted or supported by our organisation. So we’re going to spend some time focusing on the kitchens that support women to thrive.”
Chief executive Angela Clifford says she is concerned that young women thinking about getting into the industry would be put off by the events at Amisfield.
“We have some extraordinary women who are head chefs, young chefs, dishwashers, private chefs, bakers.
“They contribute so much, and I think it’s super important to tell their stories right now, because obviously young women will look at the way other young women have been treated in the Amisfield kitchen and that’s not something they want to see themselves reflected in.
“We really hope this is a moment for deep reflection about the future of New Zealand’s food story and how we show up, not just nationally, but globally. It’s a reminder that a safe, welcoming kitchen is a better example of manaaki, than awards, accolades, stars, or anything else.”
Meanwhile TVNZ, which said on Sunday that it was assessing whether to pull Vaughan Mabee’s reality TV show Taste of Art, is this week continuing to stream the sponsored and ad-supported show on its TVNZ+ platform. The site promotes Mabee as a “globally renowned chef”, and sponsors include Whittaker’s chocolate, Click Clack, Best Foods mayonnaise, Telegraph Hill, whiteware manufacturer Haier and retailer Farmers.
