Celebrity Sushi Chef Accused of Touching and Humping Female Employee

A celebrity sushi chef based in New York was accused of sexual harassment by a female subordinate in a lawsuit filed earlier this week.

The suspect, 41-year-old Abe Hiroki, is the head chef at EN Japanese Brasserie in the West Village of Manhattan. The restaurant, which boasts of his “modern approach to the rich traditions of Japanese cooking,” also happens to be frequented by celebrities.

Mayumi Bardiovsky, 32, a manager at the restaurant, brought her case to the New York Supreme Court on Monday, claiming that Hiroki harassed her and made inappropriate sexual remarks, Variety reported.

Bardiovsky, who is Japanese, started working at the restaurant in 2009. From being a runner, she became a waitress and eventually a manager in January, the New York Post noted.

In her complaint, she claimed that Hiroki touched her butt and hugged her while humping.

Allegedly, he also asked her to divorce her husband, invited her to sleep at his place, talked about masturbation and held a vegetable which he said looked like a vibrator.

Hiroki at The Martha Stewart Show via @enjb/Instagram

Hiroki also inquired about the color of Bardiovsky’s nipples and requested for photos where she wore swimsuits, according to the complaint.

Other than sexual advances, he also allegedly insulted her by making fun of her jaw, telling that she was gaining weight and calling her “ugly” in public.

Bardiovsky added that Hiroki often made his offensive remarks in Japanese so that the English-speaking staff would not understand.

For now, the restaurant is conducting an internal investigation, it said in a statement:

“As a female owned and operated restaurant with a female management team, we are aware of the allegations concerning Ms. Bardiovsky. We take these allegations seriously and we have been conducting an investigation… We kindly ask that you respect all the parties involved until a conclusion has been made.”

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