TVNZ dropped the show this week amid revelations about some of Mabee’s behaviour towards colleagues and fellow industry members.
Mabee, a celebrated chef who led Central Otago restaurant Amisfield, left the company in February. His departure followed a workplace investigation including allegations Mabee groped a colleague at a nightclub after a work gathering at his home.
Posting on Instagram, Leong said she signed on to Taste of Art last year, "excited and honoured to contribute to a show that celebrates the highest potential in cuisine artistry, as well as the tradition, culture and kai that Aotearoa is renound [sic] for the world over."
"And so it is with great disappointment that the show's resounding success has been hampered by such unfortunate circumstances these past weeks," she wrote.
"As a victim-survivor, it would feel like a betrayal to me if I did not say something about the situation at hand, and it's this: We need to listen when women speak up, because it isn't without fear, trepidation and personal cost when we do so.
On Monday, TVNZ confirmed it had removed the show from its on-demand site, TVNZ+. It comes after Australian broadcaster SBS axed the show from its schedule just days before it was due to premiere because of the news of Mabee’s alleged behaviour.
The allegations were first raised by Newsroom. Mabee has not responded to Newsroom’s questions.
However, in a statement provided to media, he “unreservedly apologised” to former colleagues, adding: “I would just hope that anyone who reads these articles will understand that I am a human. And take into account that those of us who strive for outrageous goals, sometimes have difficult journeys because of the stress and pressure that accompany those goals.”
