years. Shame on You.”
After many users responded with outrage, Atul deleted the tweet the next day and made a public apology from his account, in which he said: “There is no justification for my tweet, a major error made in the heat of the moment on Sunday. I fully recognise my inaccuracies that Islam was founded around 1,400 years ago and I sincerely apologise. I am not Islamophobic, I deeply regret my comments that have offended many.”
Following the status, many threatened to boycott his Rang Mahal restaurant at the JW Marriott Marquis. Atul made another public apology from his account on Tuesday evening, in which he asked for forgiveness and called his recent tweets “insensitive and wrong”.
In a statement made by the JW Marriott on Wednesday afternoon, the hotel announced that they would be terminating their contract with Atul and said:
“…We pride ourselves on creating a culture of diversity and inclusion for our guests and associates across the hotel and our restaurants.”
Atul was reported in The Guardian to have said: “The decision by JW Marriott Marquis Dubai is deeply upsetting, however I fully accept the great pain I have caused and the difficult position the hotel has been put in.
He added: “I have great respect for JW Marriott and in particular their staff in Dubai and wish the hotel well for the future. I hope my friends and well-wishers in Dubai will forgive me and continue to support me in the future.”
Atul was the first Indian chef in the UK to receive a Michelin star back in 2001 as head chef at Tamarind. He left the following year and opened his own restaurant Beneres in Mayfair in 2003. Atul now owns restaurants in Ireland, Kent, Amersham and Spain. He also recently appeared on BBC Two's Million Pound Menu, where he invested in Ruth Hansom and Emily Lambert's restaurant, Epoch.
