This is such a crazy post and also a case study in narcissism and abuse.

dagrassroots wrote:This is such a crazy post and also a case study in narcissism and abuse.

lol, yeah, especially the timing. smh

bnowell724 wrote:I support your right to make amends and to forgiveness and compassion, and to move on.

I think the following statement from your post is odd and I disagree that violence against another person requires more than one occurrence to qualify as 'abuse'.

However, it is false that I physically abused anyone and that the restaurant closed due to this event (one act of violence doesn't constitute as abuse...

Everyone can have their opinions. Moreover, the punishment should fit the crime. Its going on three years. Time to move on. Not forget, but move on.

JakeBickelhaupt wrote:Everyone can have their opinions. Moreover, the punishment should fit the crime. Its going on three years. Time to move on. Not forget, but move on.

I can think of nothing that has prolonged this story or turned more people against you than you filing your lawsuit. Drop the lawsuit and there will be nothing left to talk about. Even on this site, which talks about nothing other than food, 95% of it in Chicago, nobody had mentioned you for four months when you and your friend decided to post yesterday to paint you as the victim.

That said, I appreciate that you seem to want to talk about it. Open and honest dialogue is always helpful. And as someone who has spoken out against you on this Board and in my personal life, I have some questions in hopes of continuing the conversation and giving you the opportunity to clear up some factual questions and explain things better.

1) In the violent incident, is the reporting correct that you hit your ex-wife in the head with a bottle?

2) Did she, as reported, need stitches for the wound?

3) Do you have a transcript of the court proceeding you can post to back up your claim that the judge was so complimentary towards you? I'd love to read it.

4) What is the basis for your claim that hitting someone one time does not count as abuse? What is the number that, in your mind, makes it abuse?

5) You and your friend tout the foundation you established. The foundation's instagram account is private and the website appears to be down. What, specifically, has your foundation done in furtherance of its mission to "support the culinary industry by raising awareness of how substance abuse & emotional health affect chefs in the kitchen"?

6) If your goal really is to move on from this and have the public only think about your cooking and not the more sordid parts of your life, why not drop the lawsuit? I'm not asking why you think you're right or why the lawsuit is justified. I'm saying, assuming that you would win, if your goal really is to move on, what's the point of engaging in litigation that is going to repeatedly give the press an excuse to talk about you as a wife-beater rather than as a chef?

Thanks

MarlaCollins'Husband wrote:this site, which talks about nothing other than food

This topic presents plenty of evidence against that contention.

I can go to many restaurants where there is no documentation of the chef beating his wife.

That will always be my choice.

I find the argument that hitting someone just once doesn't constitute abuse completely nauseating.

Giovanna

Ex-42 Grams Chef’s Stone Flower Officially Closes
https://chicago.eater.com/2021/1/25/222 ... ickelhaupt

A three-and-a-half-hour video uploaded to Bickelhaupt’s YouTube account in October...

This guy...

Some signs of hope that Bickelhaupt may be getting himself together:

On January 19, his lawsuit against his ex-wife/victim was voluntarily dismissed with leave to refile allowed. It's possible he'll actually refile, but given how much time has passed (even if little has actually happened in the case), the mostly likely scenario is that he's not pursuing the case. If there were a settlement, the dismissal would be with prejudice.

In any event, he's married again and doing Konro pop-ups in Denver. Apparently, there's been some stuff in the news there lately about his time in Chicago. His new wife posted a long statement on Instagram "In light of the renewed interest in and coverage around by husband." Full post is here. To me the most significant part is:

Jacob’s past is something that we will both live with for the rest of our lives publicly, but more importantly, privately. My husband’s past action was horrendous and inexcusable. I have said that privately as well as publicly, and my opinion of that event will never change.

That's a far cry in terms of tone and framing from how he's addressed it before. Now, the post is from her and not from him., but he commented approvingly. I'm too cynical to think he's completely changed but this all seems to be a step in the right direction.

The people of Denver got wind of Bickelhaupt's past and that was the end of Konro.

He's moved on to what I suspect will be friendlier grounds in West Palm Beach, Florida where his "edible art tasting menu experience" is available for $405 plus 25% service fee plus tax plus drinks.

Article in the Sun Sentinel tells the story pretty well starting with the headline: "After a violent spiral, famed Chicago chef seeks redemption — and Michelin stars — in South Florida."

Seems like he's getting better at taking the blame:

“What I did was a very situational, passionate, alcoholic long story,” he tells the South Florida Sun Sentinel, taking a deep sigh. “It was horrible, and it never should have happened, and what I did was 100 percent wrong. And that’s why I’m trying to make amends to all that stuff. I’m going to live with what I did forever. I punish myself more than anyone else can punish me, I promise you that.”

Alexa Welsh, his ex-wife:

When the Sun Sentinel reached Welsh, his ex-wife, for comment, she said she had no “desire to create new toxic drama.” Instead, she wanted to move on from the attack and for the “nastiness to stop,” describing the public blowback that followed Bickelhaupt as “the craziest thing.”

“After the blow-up in Denver, I started thinking that it’s not so much that people hate Jake, they hate what he represents,” Welsh wrote through LinkedIn. “Logically, no one was in my domestic relationship but me. So why has it kept going so far beyond 2017? All I can come up with is that we started to represent something else in the minds of others. And it’s really easy to hate (and troll) someone who embodies an idea or represents an individual’s projection of their own trauma ...

Anyhow, if anyone is visiting relatives in the West Palm Beach area or scuba diving (the only reasons I can imagine anyone going there) and feels like dropping $600+ on a meal and supporting Jake, Konro is currently doing pop ups in a wine bar but will have a permanent home in January.

MarlaCollins'Husband wrote:Anyhow, if anyone is visiting relatives in the West Palm Beach area or scuba diving (the only reasons I can imagine anyone going there) and feels like dropping $600

That is a little over the top. MANY people like Florida for MANY reasons ( I am not one of those people ).

lougord99 wrote:

MarlaCollins'Husband wrote:Anyhow, if anyone is visiting relatives in the West Palm Beach area or scuba diving (the only reasons I can imagine anyone going there) and feels like dropping $600

That is a little over the top. MANY people like Florida for MANY reasons ( I am not one of those people ).

Weird part of my post to respond to but if you're going to spend your time nitpicking a superfluous tangent at least have the courtesy to address what I actually said rather than putting words in my mouth. I was very clearly taking a shot at West Palm Beach and not the entire state.