Celebrity chef Marco's wife locked up for 'lashing out at diner'

The wife of celebrity chef Marco Pierre White spent a night in police cells after being accused of assaulting a diner at one of her husband's restaurants.

Police were called to Frankie's Italian Bar and Grill in Knightsbridge, London, after Mati Pierre White allegedly lashed out at a male customer who criticised her for allowing her children to drink alcohol.

The victim later withdrew the assault allegation and Mati, 42, was released without charge after spending several hours behind bars at Chelsea Police Station.

Her arrest is the latest in a string of violent public outbursts by the Spanish mother of three, whose marriage to multi-millionaire Marco - the youngest chef to gain three Michelin stars - is the most tempestuous on the celebrity circuit.

Only last month Frankie's - jointly owned by Marco and jockey Frankie Dettori - was the venue for another extraordinary performance when Mati hurled a glass of wine at her husband, smashed the sound system and told stunned diners she was seeking a divorce.

The Mail on Sunday had previously revealed how Mati felt increasingly frustrated at the amount of time her husband was spending with former EastEnders actress Martine McCutcheon, who she refers to disparagingly as 'that brunette'.

But her fury has not always been directed towards McCutcheon.

Last summer, diners at the chef's flagship St James's restaurant, Luciano, were shocked when Mati stormed in one lunchtime and fired a waitress who she accused of sleeping with her husband.

Mati screamed: 'Get out, pack your bags, you are the second waitress my husband's been f******.'

Marco denied he had an affair with the waitress.

A few months later, during a blazing 'domestic' at the couple's £2million London home, Mati flung her husband's prized deer heads hunting trophies into the street.

Marco, 45, who last week was unveiled as the new star of the TV cookery show Hell's Kitchen, spent 14 hours behind bars in 2005 when Mati called police to their home following a violent row.

She later conceded that the argument was all her fault.

Scotland Yard confirmed that Mati was arrested after officers were called to Frankie's at 1.40 am on Saturday, February 10, following reports of an alleged assault.

'Officers spoke to a 24-year-old male. He had suffered reddening and scratches to the side of his face which did not require medical treatment,' said a spokeswoman.

'The victim subsequently withdrew the allegation and the woman was released without charge. No further action is being taken.'