NEW YORK - Allegations of sexual assault against US celebrity chef Mario Batali spotlight once again an industry known for its macho work environment as the #MeToo era claims yet another high-profile American scalp.

New York police confirmed Tuesday they had opened an investigation into the 57-year-old icon of Italian-American cuisine after a series of disturbing claims were broadcast on CBS's "60 Minutes."

An anonymous employee of one of Batali's 26 restaurants accused him of assault in 2005 at "The Spotted Pig," a celebrity haunt in Manhattan's Greenwich Village run by one of his friends, and in which he had invested.

Jamie Seet, another "Spotted Pig" employee, said she witnessed a similar incident in 2008 on the restaurant's security cameras and several employees intervened to prevent the assault.

"I think Mario Batali's a monster. He has been lauded as this incredible chef and this leader. But behind the scenes he's hurtful and he does not respect women," Trish Nelson, a former "Spotted Pig" waitress told 60 Minutes.

"We called him the Red Menace," she added.

Batali was previously accused of sexual misconduct and harassment last December, leading the restaurant group he co-founded, B&B Hospitality, removing him from operations, and television channel ABC axing him from his cooking show.

He denies the latest and more serious allegations of assault to CBS. But B&B Hospitality called them "chilling and deeply disturbing" and said it was negotiating Batali's divestment from the company, the terms of which it hoped to be set by July 1. - AFP