Celebrity Chef Lidia Bastianich Sued for Making Employee her "Slave"
By: Rosemina Nazarali
Published: August 24, 2011

Lidia Bastianich is being sued in a $5 million claim that says she made her former employee her personal slave.
Maria Carmela Farina, who has almsot 30 years of experience as a chef, says she was told in 2005 that she would be working with Bastianich in her restaurants and television shows. Farina left Italy and headed to New York where she thought she would be taking care of restaurant kitchens and creating new recipes for $600 a week. Instead, she says she ended up caring for an elderly woman for 6 years without any pay.
"[Farina] became bonded with this old lady, and didn't want to leave her like that. And she really believed that Lidia some day was going to make good on her promises," said Farina's lawyer.
Let's hope these claims aren't true, otherwise Bastianich could be in quite a bit of trouble!