A woman claims she was fired from celebrity chef David Burke's Red Horse restaurant after accusing her of sexual harassment by a sous chef and an investor.
Michelle Provost, former general manager of Iron Chef in Rumson, claims in her lawsuit that she was subjected to an “intolerable and toxic work environment rife with sexual harassment, gender discrimination, and retaliation.” According to the Asbury Park Press.
Provost claimed that a sous chef named Rafael pestered her on a date and tried to kiss her before dragging her into the restaurant's bathroom, and only released her when someone else came in, the newspaper reported.
Another sous chef openly talked about Provost's breasts with other employees, and the investor allegedly kissed her and another female employee as sexual favors and offered them cash, the paper said. .
In September, Provost was apparently punched in the ribs when he broke up a fight between two customers, one of whom was brandishing a knife.
She was fired in October after taking three days off to recover from a fever, Provost claimed.
She claimed Burke told her, “This is not a university,” according to the paper. “This isn't a high school or a university, so stop it.”
The name of the lawsuit is Mach Rest LLC, which does business as David Burke's Red Horse and is also owned by Burke, according to the Asbury Park Press.
Burke, who regularly appears on television, has also published cookbooks and sells her own specialty tableware and cooking utensils. The newspaper was not immediately able to contact him.
Burke told the Asbury Park Press on Friday that he had not seen the lawsuit. He emphasized that he has not been accused of sexually harassing the university president.
“I can't say anything else other than this, but please remember this is an allegation,” Burke said. “We run a tough business and we have a lot of companies. This is something we need to sort out and unpack.”
