By:  Ellen Cans

Food Network alum Christopher Nirschel says he was burned in more than one way, when he was slapped with a lawsuit for a fiery explosion that occurred when he catered a Hamptons event.

As reported by the NY Post, Kathleen Histon filed a lawsuit in Manhattan Supreme Court lawsuit against Nirschel and his company, NY Catering Service.  The 56-year-old Upper East Side woman claims she was seriously hurt in the fiery explosion sparked by the private chef.  She claims that while catering an event in Bridgehampton in August 2020, Nirschel “inexplicably” poured a bottle of ethanol onto her fire pit, causing the flames “to explode in a fireball” all over her, per the suit. She charges that as a result she suffered third-degree burns over 40% of her body and endured “severe disfigurement,” as per court documents.

For his part, the famed chef, Nirschel, who has appeared on “Chopped” and “Food Network Star” as a Season 7 finalist, insists he is the one who got burned, adding that he was shocked by the lawsuit.  “I was refilling the fire pit, and one of her guests pushed the ‘on’ button,” causing the blast that engulfed both him and Histon, he told The Post.  “It was one of the scariest things of my life, extremely traumatic. I still remember the sound of that explosion.”  He said that Histon gave him the ethanol to refuel the fire pit.  It was turned off but an unknown guest came and restarted it at the worst moment.  “It nearly ended my life. I had multiple surgeries on my arm… I had to be airlifted,” he recalled. “I had third-degree burns. I was in the hospital for almost a month.”

The celebrity chef, who posts on Instagram and Twitter under the handle @culinarybadboy has close to 31,000 followers.  He also has multiple recent clips on YouTube tagged as “Rocking the grill in the Hamptons”.  At the time, Nirschel had posted pictures of himself in the hospital, with his burned arm and face almost totally covered in bandages.  “Everybody pray for me. I was involved in an explosion two days ago,” he had shared on Instagram. “I was airlifted and have 2nd and 3rd-degree burns. I have to have surgery Thursday for skin graft.”

He says he didn’t cause the fire and suffered greatly from it.  “I’m a small business owner, I’ve never had an issue. I take my job extremely seriously. . . . It’s unfortunate she’s going to come after me and my business,” said Nirschel.  His NY based catering company provides service throughout NYC, Westchester, Long Island, and the Tri-State area.  Per his website, he began his career in 2009 by studying at The French Culinary Institute.  He has cooked in several acclaimed NYC restaurants including Celsius at Bryant Park, World Yacht, and North River.  He has prepared meals for celebrities including Puff Daddy, Chaka Khan, Jason Kidd and Orlando Magic, his website boasts.

Histon, who is acting as her own lawyer and is seeking unspecified damages, did not reply to the Post’s request for comment.