After coming clean about a past involving addiction and sexual harassment, the co-owner and chef behind many popular Ottawa restaurants says he’s handed over management of those establishments.
Matthew Carmichael, the chef and one of the business owners behind Riviera, Datsun and two El Camino locations, said in a statement Wednesday morning that he is now clean after having been in drug and alcohol rehabilitation since June. He says he attended a 30-day program in southern Ontario.
Mr. Carmichael has also admitted to and apologized for sexually harassing women in the past with inappropriate comments.
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Zaahra Mehsen was three years into a biology degree at a local university when she realized she wanted to take a different path. “I realized that it’s not my thing,”
“My fiancée Kelly Landry and I have decided together to speak out about harassment as part of my recovery. I feel this is a crucial step in this process. In a clear state of sobriety I feel its full effect and to the women I have harassed, I apologize,” he wrote in a statement.
Mr. Carmichael added that he is no longer involved in the daily operation of his restaurants. He says he handed over operations to his management team who “acted immediately” when he told them the nature of his addiction.
Riviera on Sparks Street was recently named to enRoute Magazine’s annual list of the top 10 new Canadian restaurants.
