Susan Clairmont: More sexual misconduct allegations surface against Mezcal chef Manny Ferreira

Warning: This story contains graphic content which might be upsetting.

There are patterns.

There are things he allegedly did and said, repeating in their stories.

He gave them free tequila.

He pulled up a chair, uninvited.

He bragged about his success.

He was drunk or high.

He wanted sex.

One woman says it is time for women to stop blaming themselves for things that happen - that it's time to change the narrative.

I believe this is the start of a movement," she says.

Hamilton police have confirmed an ongoing investigation into allegations of sexual assault against chef Manny Ferreira since The Spectator published an investigation into his alleged behaviour in February.

Within hours of it being made public, police issued a rare media release acknowledging the story and encouraging survivors to contact detectives in the Sexual Assault Unit.

The investigation is ongoing and Hamilton Police continue to encourage victims or anyone with information to come forward," police now say.

Reached through his lawyer, Ferreira declines to make any comment" on the police investigation.

Not all the alleged behaviour documented by The Spectator about Ferreira is illegal. But it suggests an alleged pattern of unsolicited and unwanted sexually-charged actions that made women feel uncomfortable or even violated.

There are few women in our society who haven't been the victim of some kind of sexual misconduct. It's a continuum of behaviour that ranges from creepy to criminal and ranges from micro-aggressions and everyday sexism (think catcalls) to sexual assault.

Since the original story was published dozens of people have reached out to The Spectator with stories of their own. Some are about Ferreira. Some are about other men.

Three women and one man have decided to share their allegations regarding Ferreira in this story. That brings the number of complainants who have gone public about Ferreira in The Spectator to a dozen.

The latest group said they were inspired by the courage of those who spoke out first and by the revelation that they are not alone. They were encouraged by the fact The Spectator gave them a voice and our community appeared to be listening.

Their stories echo and, in one case corroborate, those of the eight people who first shared allegations that Ferreira slapped staff on their butts, sent an unwanted video of himself masturbating to an employee, exposed himself to a customer, grabbed a former employee's crotch and had intercourse with a woman who told him No."

Ferreira is the creator of Mezcal, a taco and tequila restaurant on James Street South, and Uno Mas, a cocktails and tapas lounge downstairs.

The Spectator reached out to him, through an email to his attorney, about this latest wave of allegations.

Speaking for his client, criminal lawyer Peter Boushy told The Spectator: Manny Ferreira denies the allegations as referenced in your email."

The Spectator also asked if Mezcal and Uno Mas remain open and if the allegations previously reported had impacted the businesses.

Boushy wrote: Furthermore, Manny Ferreira respectfully declines to answer any questions posed in your email."

It is unclear if Mezcal is still in business. Calls to its phone number reach a mailbox that is full.

Trying his luck

Wendy Walsh was with three women she worked with for a girls' night out.

It was the spring or summer of 2019 and the group wound up at Uno Mas. It was her first time there.

Manny Ferreira greeted them and Wendy says she knew he was the chef who had won a Chopped Canada competition on the Food Network. She congratulated him.

He just boasted," she says.

Ferreira chatted up the group and ordered complimentary tequila shots and food for their table.

That's such a nice thing to do," Wendy thought.

Wendy, now 31, says she initially found Ferreira attractive. He seemed driven," put together" and ambitious."

Ferreira was with friends that night. Many people interviewed by The Spectator have referred to Ferreira's posse," entourage or crew," most of whom also work in Hamilton's culinary industry.

Eventually, Ferreira pulled a chair up beside Wendy and sat down. He had not been invited.

He was mostly focused on me," says Wendy of the social dynamic at the table.

Ferreira summoned another round of tequila, on the house.

We took the shots. I remember there was still the burn," Wendy says.

At that moment, she alleges, Ferreira leaned in and whispered in her ear, so that only she could hear.

I'd like to tie you up in the basement and leave your cold, naked body down there," he said, according to her allegation.

It really freaked me out," she says. I was completely taken aback."

What the f- did you just say to me?" she said.

Wendy says his answer was nonchalant."

Don't worry. I'm just playing. I'm just playing," she alleges he said.

Wendy called him out."

That's really messed up," she says she told him.

Ferreira allegedly left her table and went to try his luck" with other women in the bar.

Later that evening, Ferreira made his way back to Wendy's table, but she made it clear she didn't want him near her. She alleges he called her a stupid bitch" before leaving her alone for good.

As the night went on, we just watched him get obliterated," says Wendy, referring to the copious amount of alcohol he was consuming.

When the bill came, the group was charged for all the free" tequila shots Ferreira ordered for them.

A coworker who was part of the group at Uno Mas that night sent Wendy the Spectator story about Ferreira. She circled the parts that were similar to their own experience:

He'd see a table of beautiful women, he'd comp their meals and drinks, and then he'd try to get them to go home with him."

Women who rejected Ferreira's overtures were insulted by him afterward - sometimes within earshot."

Wendy says she is speaking out now because she hopes it may help validate some of the other women's experiences."

Successful, kind, generous, attractive'

After a day of teaching her elementary school class, she loved to sit, alone, at Uno Mas with a cocktail and a good book.

She went there at least once a week and over time, she got to know chef Manny Ferreira. He frequently asked her advice about his young son's education.

They were becoming friends, she thought.

He gave her free drinks and food. He always found a table for her, even when it was busy.

She thought he was successful, kind, generous, attractive." She liked his tattoos and thought he was charming and funny."

I thought, I've made a friend who is a head chef in Hamilton. I feel cool,'" she says.

After a while, their banter became flirtatious. Ferreira gave her his personal cell number, so she could have him keep a table for her. He invited her to a special Girls' Night" at Uno Mas where a bunch of women were wined and dined while promotional photos were taken.

The woman, who is now 33 and no longer lives in Hamilton, asked not to be identified in this story because she never told her family what allegedly transpired between her and Ferreira.

On a Saturday morning in May 2017, while at brunch with a girlfriend, the woman received a text from Ferreira. He asked her to come to his home on Herkimer Street. She says she believed he was inviting her to hook up."

She arrived and he already smelled like beer and he looked totally buzzed."

There was white powder all over his coffee table at 11 in the morning. With children's toys on the floor, which is such a bizarre image."

The woman alleges the white powder was cocaine.

Ferreira has publicly admitted to having addiction issues and a former business partner has told The Spectator he has a cocaine addiction.

Ferreira's son was not home and the woman believed Ferreira had been up all night.

She says they talked for a bit. Ferreira told her about his now-late father abusing him as a child, something else that he has said publicly in the past. He said he was proud of overcoming hardships and making a name for himself in Hamilton, she says.

All the while he was drinking beer and snorting cocaine, she alleges.

Then they had sex.

They spent much of the day together and eventually lounged on separate couches watching a movie. Ferreira was in his boxers.

She looked over at him.

I'm seeing he's sending dick pics to somebody on his phone while I am right there," she alleges. I'm right there!"

She left.

It is unclear who Ferreira was sending pictures to or if he was doing so with their consent.

With consent is one thing.

But sending a dick pic without consent can result in charges being laid - possibly for indecent communications" - under the Criminal Code of Canada.

The woman alleges that after her encounter with Ferreira, he asked if she would like him to send her a dick pic. She said no. He allegedly sent one anyway.

He would text her sometimes, always late at night. He would ask her to come over. She declined.

She continued to visit Uno Mas to read and have a cocktail. Ferreira no longer gave her free drinks. She says she now believes the complimentary drinks were a way of grooming" her into an intimate relationship.

The final straw was when she learned of a Mezcal employee - a friend of a friend - who received an unwanted video from Ferreira of himself masturbating. The employee quit because of the video. (The Spec has previously reported on that video and has seen a screen grab from it.)

The last time the woman saw Ferreira she confronted him about the video, which she considers serious sexual misconduct.

You shouldn't listen to what everyone else says," the woman recalls him saying of the talk circulating about the video.

They have had no contact with each other since then.

He's a person who does not feel remorse about the way he treats people," she says. There's something soulless about him."

Concerned about the girls'

Jake Jensen recently gave the Hamilton Police Sexual Assault Unit a statement about Manny Ferreira.

He told a detective that while he was a cook at Uno Mas in 2017, Ferreira intentionally struck him in the testicles.

Jake long ago moved on to new employment. He says he has come forward now after reading The Spectator's investigation into the chef and confronting the guilt he has felt for not reporting his former boss sooner.

I'm not concerned about me," he explains. I'm concerned about the girls."

Jake, now 25, wants to lend his voice to the chorus of complaints about Ferreira as a way of supporting those women.

I'm mad at myself because I didn't do anything four years ago," he says.

Jake says the detective told him there is an open investigation" into Ferreira and police are actively working on the case."

In March 2017, Jake, whose restaurant experience consisted of working at McDonald's during high school, got a big break when he was given the opportunity to prove himself during a trial shift in the Mezcal kitchen.

When he was done, he was told Chef would like to meet you."

He was taken to Ferreira.

He was polite, he was amicable and he was to the point," Jake says of the moment he was hired.

That first impression wouldn't last.

The kitchen culture at Mezcal was toxic," says Jake.

Ferreira swore and called people names. He was rude and condescending, Jake alleges, echoing what others have told The Spectator before.

There was an air and a culture of I'm in charge. I own you.'"

When (Ferreira) was in the kitchen, I didn't think I ever saw him without a drink in his hand."

Tequila mostly, says Jake.

Sometimes Ferreira would be drunk at work. Once, while intoxicated and angry, he punched the fridge, Jake says.

Like others interviewed by The Spectator, Jake says Ferreira would go and seek out girls" dining in Mezcal and Uno Mas.

He'd walk into the kitchen with two girls on his arms."

Some of those women, he took to the public bathroom, adjacent to the kitchen.

We could hear what sounded like them having sex," Jake alleges.

Also, Jake alleges he found cocaine on top of the toilet tank" after Ferreira was in there.

Similar claims about sex and drugs in the bathroom were made by others The Spectator has spoken to in its ongoing investigation.

The incident that led Jake to talk to police happened during a chef competition hosted at Uno Mas.

During it, Ferreira sent Jake to fetch him a cocktail. When the cook failed to deliver it, Ferreira allegedly backhanded him in his testicles.

Jake chose not to complain about the assault to the human resources director, who was the chef's sister, Kristy Ferreira.

I felt if I raise the issue, I might lose my job," he says. He also worried if he complained, Ferreira would blacklist me to all the other restaurant owners in the city."

Others have told The Spec they faced the same obstacles to lodging a complaint about Ferreira.

Five months after being hired at Mezcal, Jake quit.

The start of a movement

Jess was so afraid of Manny Ferreira's aggressive and persistent advances while she dined at Mezcal that she secretly paid her bill, called a friend for an urgent ride and snuck out of the restaurant.

Jess is 31 now and doesn't want her last name used because she doesn't want to discuss the frightening experience with anyone else. She says she is speaking out because she understands the feeling of being so unsafe and fearful" that other women have shared in connection to Ferreira and hopes to make Ferreira accountable for his alleged actions.

I believe this is the start of a movement," she says.

On the evening of Saturday, June 22, 2019, Jess and her girlfriends walked into Mezcal. It was her first time there.

The five women were having a girls' night. They had reserved a table, she says, but it wasn't ready. So Chef Ferreira said he would take care of them and had them set up at a table downstairs in Uno Mas.

Jess says she initially didn't know who Ferreira was, although I did pretty quickly because he told us."

She says within minutes he had told the group he was the chef and the winner of Chopped Canada.

He personally takes us downstairs and brings us a round of shots and sits with us," Jess says. He pulled up a chair. Practically sat on my lap."

She was not impressed.

I was just, like, not having it. Not engaging ... He sat very close to me, very quickly. I thought What does this guy think he's doing?'"

Jess says she felt his vibe" and I didn't think he was this cool, big shot guy. I was rude and short with him."

That didn't deter Ferreira, she says. He continued to flirt with her and grasped onto the fact that they both have young sons.

Jess says the table seemed to collectively decide to appease" Ferreira because he was the owner of the place at which they had chosen to eat that night.

Finally, Ferreira said he had to leave to go to another one of his bars. (He at one time was a partner in Baroque and Black Rabbit nightclubs, neither of which exists now.)

Jess was relieved. A table opened up at Mezcal for the women and they moved upstairs for dinner and drinks.

Then Ferreira returned.

As soon as he came back, I was scared," Jess says.

Jess says he sat very close to her again, ordered more tequila shots for the table and touched her shoulder. Jess alleges he kept whispering to her and was implying expectations."

She says she believed there was an expectation that she would have sex with Ferreira in exchange for free alcohol.

It was very clear that he wanted me to go home and have sex with him," she alleges. I was so scared and uncomfortable."

She says she was fearful he's going to get aggressive with me."

The other women at the table could not hear what Ferreira was whispering. Even so, one woman saw the dynamics and mouthed You need to leave," according to Jess.

Ferreira was drinking tequila shots with the group, but now Jess suspected he was also high.

You could see it in his eyes," she says. She saw a small vial on a chain around his neck. She assumed it contained cocaine.

Others previously interviewed by The Spectator also talked about Ferreira's necklace. Some said he offered them cocaine from it.

Jess decided she'd had enough. She excused herself to use the bathroom. While away from the table she secretly" paid her bill and called a girlfriend for an urgent ride home.

I'm unsafe and you need to come and get me," she said.

Then she told her table she was going outside for some air.

She never came back.

Afterward, her friends told her Ferreira was pretty upset" that she left.

For a long time, Jess wondered if she did the right thing that night.

Did I make this out to be something worse than it was?" she thought. I was mad at myself. How did I get myself into that situation?"

She wondered if her shorts were too short that night.

After reading The Spectator's stories about Ferreira, she realized just because she wasn't sexually assaulted doesn't mean what happened to her wasn't traumatic, she says.

We put the blame on ourselves. And we feel such shame."

It's time to change the narrative."

For help:

Hamilton Police Sexual Assault Unit: 905-540-5553 or online at www.hamiltonpolice.on.ca.

SACHA: 905-525-4162

McMaster University Sexual Violence Prevention and Response Office: svpro@mcmaster.ca

SAVIS (Sexual Assault and Violence Intervention Services of Halton): 905-875-1555

Susan Clairmont is a Hamilton-based crime, court and social justice columnist at The Spectator. Reach her via email: sclairmont@thespec.com