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COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — René Redzepi, founder and celebrity chef of iconic Danish restaurant Noma, who earned three Michelin stars and other international accolades for his innovative “New Nordic” cuisine, has resigned following allegations of abuse and assault at the iconic Copenhagen restaurant.

Redzepi has been dogged for years by reports of mistreatment of his staff, as well as his years-long use of unpaid interns to staff the expensive restaurant, which ranked first five times on the list of the world’s 50 best restaurants.

But criticism recently came to a head on social media, with an article in The New York Times detailing accounts of abuse from former employees just days before the opening of a Noma pop-up in Los Angeles.

Sponsors have since withdrawn their funding for the Southern California residency, which opened Wednesday to a small gathering of protesters and where a meal will cost $1,500. Redzepi announced his resignation on Instagram shortly after with a tearful video.

“I’ve worked to be a better leader and Noma has made great strides in transforming the culture for many years,” he wrote in the caption of the post on Thursday. “I recognize that these changes do not make amends for the past. An apology is not enough; I take responsibility for my own actions.”

Soeren Bidstrup via AP

Jason Ignacio White, former director of Noma’s fermentation lab, collected anonymous testimonies of alleged abuse at the restaurant and posted them on his Instagram page. The accounts, ranging from verbal abuse to physical assault at the hands of Redzepi and his aides, have gone viral.

“I got punched in the face during the service there,” an unidentified person wrote to White.

Another said: “Noma destroyed my passion for the industry. I struggled with intense anxiety, bad enough to give me panic attacks in the middle of the night. The trauma, abuse and the idea that nothing would ever change led me to abandon the career.”

The Times interviewed 35 former employees, who remember Redzepi punching employees in the face, hitting them with kitchen utensils and slamming them against walls. Verbal abuse was also apparently common in Redzepi’s kitchen.

The chef has publicly addressed his aggression over the past decade. In response to Saturday’s New York Times article, the chef apologized on Instagram and said he has worked to change his behavior.

He was knighted in 2016 of the Dannebrog Order of Denmark by then-Queen Margaret II.

THIBAULT SAVARY via Getty Images

Noma, Redzepi and the Danish royal family’s press department did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Thursday.

Kristoffer Dahy Ernst, editor-in-chief of Danish food magazine Gastro, said Redzepi had to resign so the restaurant had a chance of surviving.

“René Redzepi is the face of Noma, he is Noma,” Dahy Ernst told The News. “If you want to solve the huge problem Noma has right now, you must eliminate the source of the problem.”

Dahy Ernst said it is unclear whether Noma will be able to continue without its visionary founder, who brought international recognition to a Scandinavian country that can trace a shift in its gastrotourism before and after the restaurant’s opening in 2003. With its dedication to hospitality, impeccable execution and culture of foraging for food from nearby land and sea, Noma turned Copenhagen into one of the top dining destinations for foodies around the world.

“We were very old-fashioned. We ate open sandwiches on rye bread, but we weren’t very proud of our cuisine,” said Dahy Ernst.

For Annie Nguyen, an American tourist who visited Copenhagen on Thursday, Noma had long been on her list of places to visit. But recent headlines have caused a change of heart.

“I personally wouldn’t want to continue dining there with that kind of culture,” he said. “I feel like it leaves a bad taste in my mouth.”

Copenhagen local Nicklas Keng said he doesn’t expect an industry-wide reckoning to follow. But he is hopeful that even if Noma’s excellence fades, its talented students in Denmark will ensure Copenhagen’s food scene remains on the map. ___

Dazio reported from Berlin.