By most accounts, the partnership behind Colborne Lane has seemed like an enviable one: chef Claudio Aprile’s molecular gastronomy–inflected cooking, combined with front-of-house whiz Hanif Harji’s smooth, smart service, made theirs the city’s go-to restaurant for diners from across the continent. Almost as soon as they opened this past spring, the pair began work on another venture on Queen West. Called Bar Crudo, it was set to open later in the summer.

But deep cracks started showing in the relationship in July, when Aprile decided he couldn’t work with Harji any longer. “The perception is that Hanif Harji bankrolled me and took me under his wing,” Aprile said. “That’s far from the truth. I was doing a lot of the work and he was taking a lot of the credit. Hanif would stroll in around 9 p.m. and buy drinks for his friends and that was his idea of work.” For his part, Harji says he was spending 40 hours a week at the restaurant. “I was there every single night at service, and I was there during the day doing operational work and the financials. We’ve been open three months and he was sick for 10 days,” Harji added. “He’s going to be travelling for two weeks in the month of July to film a TV show. I run the restaurant when he’s away.”

Aprile said he’d found new financial backers and planned to buy Harji out of Colborne Lane, while he’d consider letting him have Bar Crudo. But despite the dust-up, both men also tried to sound conciliatory notes: about an hour after his first conversation with Toronto Life, Aprile called back to say he’d been unnecessarily harsh in his depiction of Harji. “I’ve been under tremendous pressure lately, and I don’t want to speak out of anger. I don’t in any way want to compromise Hanif’s reputation or career.” Harji insisted that they might still be able to patch up their partnership.

And a few days later, it seemed the imminent divorce had turned into a love-in. Harji wrote an e-mail claiming they’d kissed and made up. “We’re looking forward to the development of Bar Crudo together.” Sounds like wishful thinking? For diners’ sake, let’s hope it isn’t.