fb-pixelLocal chef Maslow arrested at Canadian border - The Boston Globe Skip to main content
NAMES

Local chef Maslow arrested at Canadian border

Chef Timothy Maslow after his arrest at the Canadian border.Vermont State Police

Timothy Maslow, whose tantalizing take on Italian food earned his Brookline restaurant Ribelle a rare four-star review from The Boston Globe, is out on bail after being arrested at the Canadian border with more than 20 pounds of marijuana edibles.

According to Corporal George Rodriguez of the Vermont State Police, the 31-year-old chef who lives in Waltham was stopped at 4:44 a.m. Friday at the Highgate Port of Entry by border authorities. He was driving into the United States from Canada. Agents searched the car in which Maslow was traveling with four other people and discovered 22.5 pounds of THC edibles, a controlled substance, and a pipe.

Advertisement



Rodriguez said Maslow was charged with felony possession of marijuana and possession of a depressant, stimulant, and narcotic, and taken to the Franklin County Courthouse in St. Albans, Vt. Maslow pleaded not guilty and was released on $5,000 bail.

“He claimed it was all his,” Rodriguez said Sunday. “He was very cooperative.”

A man answering Maslow’s cellphone promptly hung up when contacted Sunday.

Named one of the country’s “best new chefs” last year by Food & Wine magazine, Maslow has been hailed for his original and adventurous food. Reviewing Ribelle in the Globe in 2013, former restaurant critic Devra First wrote: “The food is startling, inventive, and smart. . . . Imagination is nothing without the proper amount of salt and acid. And that is what really makes the food at Ribelle wonderful and satisfying. Each plate is perfectly seasoned.”

Maslow had worked his way up through the ranks of the Momofuku restaurants in New York, eventually becoming chef de cuisine of Momofuku Ssam Bar. But he later returned home to reinvigorate his father’s Watertown sandwich shop, Strip-T’s, turning it into a dining destination using eclectic flavors and innovative molecular gastronomy techniques.

Advertisement



It’s not clear what Ribelle’s status is. Saturday night, Maslow posted two videos on Instagram that imply the restaurant may be closing. In one video, Ribelle business cards are fed into a fire, with the caption: “Last service @ribellebkline in the books. So looking forward to gutting this [expletive] like a pig and getting it right.” In the other video, the Globe’s glowing review of the restaurant is set on fire, and the caption reads: “I’m done with this one too. Have your 4 stars back @bostonglobe. Give it to someone who wants it. #ripribelle.”