Charlie Trotter Auction Ends Early

Well, it looks like Charlie Trotter's restaurant items auction on Wednesday didn't quite go as planned; in addition to lecturing everyone about the value of the items up for auction, Trotter also cut the selling short.

The Chicago Tribune reports that the chef, known for being particularly mercurial, ended the auction about one-third of the way through the items. Kevin Bunte, co-owner of Bunte Auction Services, said the auction started at noon (an hour late) and ended a little after 4 p.m.

Trotter intervened during the auction at several locations, taking over from auctioneers to talk about items to bidders. "Enough," Trotter reportedly said. "Do you guys even know what this is? Of course you don't."

Bunte mentions that the Chicago chef had talked about possibly postponing the auction; the service is unsure whether Trotter wants to reschedule the auction to sell the remaining items.