The redemption arc

Celebrity scandal is nothing new – in fact, tabloid newspapers rely on it to sell their publications, where the headlines were ‘clickbait’ long before the internet was invented. Whether someone can make a comeback after getting caught in a scandal depends on the person’s popularity level and on how heinous the actions were; some sins are unforgiveable. When talking about celebrities in the culinary world, comebacks are fairly common but definitely not guaranteed.

Martha Stewart went to federal prison after being convicted of making false statements and obstruction of justice in the aftermath of an insider trading scandal. She spent several months in a federal correction facility starting in October 2004. That’s all water under the bridge, as she is arguably more popular than ever in her mid-80s. Stewart’s prison sentence even led to a new friendship and television appearances with Snoop Dogg.

Chef Robert Irvine was able to quickly recover after he was caught faking items on his resume, which led to being sacked from his Food Network program ‘Dinner Impossible’ in 2008. After just a year, Food Network hired him back to work on ‘Restaurant Impossible’ which ran for several years. Another Food Network star, Mario Batali, has not been as successful in rehabilitating his career. The sexual assault allegations that brought him down were much more serious than padding a resume, however. Likewise, Paula Deen struggled to regain her pre-scandal levels of popularity following accusations of discrimination and workplace harassment.

Today another food celebrity is attempting to make a comeback: Jessica Koslow, owner of Los Angeles restaurant Sqirl. You might remember Sqirl from what has become known as “JamGate“, when disgruntled workers published photographs of moldy jam that were allegedly being used at the restaurant. Accusations of a hostile workplace soon followed, and Koslow’s star faded. Prior to the scandal, Sqirl was one of the most popular restaurants in LA, launching trends that have become ubiquitous in and beyond the city.

Fast forward six years and Koslow is again trying to make a splash in Los Angeles dining, this time through Sqirl’s dinner service, which debuted on February 19. As Eater’s Matthew Kang writes, opinions about Koslow and Sqirl haven’t faded over the intervening years and people are debating whether or not Koslow deserves to be absolved for the actions that led up to the 2020 scandal. Will she emerge from this second act closer to Martha Stewart or Paula Deen?