By Manuel McDonnell Smith
Some chefs are fond of the maxim “If you can’t stand the heat, then get out of the kitchen.” After her confirmed use of racial slurs and mockery, one network has taken the motto to heart and shown celebrity chef Paula Deen the kitchen door. But will Deen’s other corporate backers, and the public, also shun the chef’s nasty casserole of hate The response so far has been mixed.
Last week, Food Network moved quickly to announce that it would “not renew Paula Deen’s contract when it expires at the end of this month,” after she acknowledged using the N-word and considering hiring an all-Black wait staff for her brother’s 2007 wedding. The shocking revelations came from testimony Deen delivered under oath in a lawsuit in which a female former employee alleges rampant gender and sexual harassment while employed at Deen’s Georgia restaurant.
