Nate Appleman, 2009 James Beard Foundation Award Rising Star Chef winner, former The Next Iron Chef contestant, author of the marvelous A16: Food + Wine cookbook, and chef at Pulino's Bar and Pizzeria in the Bowery, was arrested last Wednesday afternoon in New York City's East Village. For carrying a knife. Police reportedly surrounded the heavily tattooed, 5-foot 8-inch chef after spotting a suspicious chain disappearing into his pocket. Appleman was charged with weapons possession and released 2 hours later. He's scheduled to appear in court later this month.

“It's a pocket knife that's two inches long that I used to cut boxes at work,” Appleman told the New York Post. “I've collected knives since I was a kid. My mother gives me a knife every year on my birthday. This knife is the one she got me this year.” The knife in this photo is not, needless to say, the knife in question. Lucky for Appleman he wasn't carrying any of his Food Network toys. We'd probably never have seen him again.

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