Yitzhak Bitton, Le Marais' former mashgiach, has put up audio files of OU officials agreeing to some of his charges against the restaurant's chef. I'd feel much better about this if Bitton put up the entire recordings and not just the tiny sound bites already posted. Still, one thing seems (note the qualifier here: seems) clear – the OU mishandled this from the beginning.
I'd also add the fault here does not seem to lie with the restaurant's owners. Le Marais should not be made to suffer because the OU is poorly managed and not transparent. Le Marais is still kosher, and still under OU supervision – I hear Rabbi Weinreb ate there last week, in fact.
The violations Bitton found (or, in some cases, thought he found), are only serious if intentional, meaning that the chef must truly be willfully negligent. Despite Bitton's claims, he has no proof of this point. The chef in question has worked at Le Marais for 2 1/2 years. I'm told Bitton was there for all or most of that time, as well. How may violations has Bitton "documented"? Three.
In other words, for a very long time, Bitton worked with this man and had no difficulties. Then, something changed. Is that something the behavior of the chef? Is it Bitton? Is it simply a personality conflict that escalated? I do not know.
But, again, the owners and other employees of Le Marais should not be made to suffer because of this. Le Marais is still kosher. Its owners want nothing more than to continue providing kosher food to the community, and they have done everything asked of them by the OU.
Do not blame them for this mess. Blame those truly at fault – Rabbi Menachem Genack and his staff at OU Kosher.
[Hat Tip: UOJ.]