by Jack Crowe
Celebrity chef José Andrés falsely accused Ivanka Trump of asking that he be denied entry to a private Washington, D.C., party Saturday night.
Andrés, an outspoken critic of President Donald Trump, attended the Alfalfa Club dinner but was barred from an after party at Cafe Milano in Georgetown. The well-known chef recently backed out of a deal to open a restaurant in a Trump property in Washington, D.C., in response to Trump’s comments about Mexican immigrants.
The philanthropic dinner is considered exclusive; one guest described it to The Washington Post as the “the A-list of the A-list parties.”
Attended by politicians and business people, the party draws from the Alfalfa Dinner but is more selective. Andrés, however, felt entitled to attend because he was invited to the dinner.
“In Washington,” Andrés told WaPo. “When you have these parties, everybody knows if you have an after-party, you are going in.”
Thank you @CafeMilanoDC Franco Nuschese! I was a guest of the #alfalfaclubdinner2018 “everyone”welcome to the after party, but I’m the only individual not allow in? Is because @IvankaTrump told you so? You should be ashamed of yourself Franco.@washingtonpost pic.twitter.com/iJ5wQM18Z6
— José Andrés (@chefjoseandres) January 28, 2018
Andrés, who admits his name was not on the exclusive guest list, posted a viral complaint that has been retweeted more than 10,000 times. The cafe owner, Franco Nuschese, insists Ivanka’s presence was unrelated to his ejection.
Both Nuschese and Ivanka reached out to the chef Sunday afternoon to make amends.
“I said, ‘José, it was just a private party, and I’m sorry for the misunderstanding, and I’m sorry for the way that you feel,’” Nuschese said.
The chef finished off a Twitter skirmish by asking why he was “the only” person denied entry to the after party.
Thank you @CafeMilanoDC and Franco for the apology. I understand was a “misunderstanding”. Still hard to understand why I was the only person not allowed in! Please people of @washingtondc keep supporting a great resturant institution. Now let’s all be friends. #USAforward
— José Andrés (@chefjoseandres) January 28, 2018
Thank you @IvankaTrump for reaching out. I believe now that you personally had nothing to do.
Let’s now work on what’s important: Immigration reform, where #DACADreamers and Undocumented citizens will become part of a strong USA. With secure borders. With economic growth.
Ivanka addressed the accusations in a statement issued Sunday afternoon after a number of prominent media outlets, a former Mexican ambassador, and chef Anthony Bourdain reported Andrés’ now admittedly fabricated claims without verifying the information.
“I am thankful for Jose’s clarification,” said Trump, who serves as an assistant to the president. “I had nothing to do with anything that transpired relating to him last night at the restaurant.”
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