Corruption Crackdown Cooking French Chefs

After attacking corruption by politicians, businessmen and even soccer players, prosecutors have expanded a 3-year-old crackdown to include dozens of top Paris chefs suspected of taking kickbacks from a fish supplier.

In a nation known for fine dining, the investigation has reached the highest levels of government. The top chef at the Foreign Ministry, who fed visiting heads of state for 10 years, was forced to retire for taking money from suppliers.

There’s no indication that diners got inferior food, but they may have been forced to pay higher prices at dozens of chic eateries where dinner can cost $200 a person.

Eric Halphen, one of France’s most aggressive anti-corruption judges, has implicated about 30 chefs.