Artist Dr. Lou Jacobs has put together a pretty interesting show in Portland, Maine called “Food Industry Mug Shots 1899-1954”. From Good:

On March 12, 1942, Donald Smith, a cook in Iowa, was arrested on charges of disorderly conduct. His case history describes his crime: “During an altercation in the kitchen of the Red Feather Cafe, subject stabbed one Ted Anderson with a butcher knife.”

Maybe bad-ass chefs like Anthony Bourdain and David Chang aren’t really anything new. Restaurants have seedy, sometimes violent, underbellies. And sometimes, cooks get caught doing what they shouldn’t.

Four years ago, Dr. Lou Jacobs found a mug shot and started collecting original images from the dark side of the food world. He found bartenders, cooks, and waiters who had been pushed over the edge and were accused of murder, theft, pimping and pandering, and drunken and disorderly conduct.

So not much has changed. See more of Jacobs’ curated mugshots here.

PS. The genial Ted Anderson, chef de cuisine at West 4th’s Refuel, is perfectly fine.