Top Chef winner was fired for misconduct Gabe Erales was the executive chef at Comedor in Austin, Texas. He had what has been described as a "consensual sexual relationship" with an employee at the restaurant in summer 2020. He competed on season 18 of Top Chef in October 2020. When he returned to the restaurant in November 2020, he cut the employee's hours (he claims he cut her hours because of her job performance). In December 2020, he was fired due to what was described only as "misconduct." Comedor owners Philip Speer and William Ball shared the news with staff in an email that provided similarly sparse details: “Effective immediately, Comedor Executive Chef Gabe Erales is no longer with the restaurant due to repeated violation of our policies and for behavior in conflict with our values."