Culture

Former North End Grill Chef Eric Korsh Accused Of Misconduct

chef Koldunov / istockphoto.com
Taylor Rock|

Less than five months after it was among several restaurant operators named in a pending lawsuit for allegedly conspiring to fix menu prices by nixing tips , Union Square Hospitality Group is being accused of mishandling misconduct allegations dating back several years. In a new report by Eater, eight former staffers of New York City's North End Grill claim that the restaurant's former executive chef, Eric Korsh, regularly made inappropriate comments about female customers and often lost his temper at both front and back-of-house staff.

The noted CEO and founder of Union Square Hospitality, Danny Meyer— who owns 15 restaurants and the fast food fan favorite Shake Shack — built his empire on a foundation of "enlightened hospitality" and uses the motto "employees first." But former staffers of North End Grill told Eater that they reported Korsh to the company's human resources department in 2014, 2015, and 2016 to no avail. Several workers report that they felt as if the department did not take their concerns seriously and that the chef's behavior didn't change until summer 2017 — leading many of them to quit their jobs in the meantime.

Korsh stepped down from his position in early 2018, and is now the chef at Racines in Tribeca. During an interview with Grub Street in February, he said that he moved on simply to pursue other opportunities.

Longtime New York Times restaurant critic Pete Wells addressed the allegations in a tweet on March 9.

"So maybe he left a major job with USHG because he was tired of working in such a spacious, well-equipped kitchen. Or maybe it had something to do with the abusive shouting and inappropriate touching alleged by Eater today," he wrote.

Korsh isn't the only one named in Eater's report. Former Gramercy Tavern sous-chef Junsoo Bae is accused of groping a server at a company party in 2016. He didn't leave the USHG until 2017, when he was fired — though staffers told Eater that Bae had already planned to leave for another job.

Meyer has issued this statement in response to the accusations: "At USHG we work hard to hold ourselves to the highest standard, and we're incredibly disappointed when we miss the mark. Mutual care and respect are at the core of our culture, and we are committed to doing better. We investigate all claims of harassment and inappropriate workplace behavior thoroughly. We strive to pursue a thoughtful and balanced process, but unfortunately not all investigations end conclusively. The last several months have been an invaluable learning opportunity for us. We understand that sexual harassment is a symptom of broader systemic inequality in our industry, and going forward we are resolved to eradicate the deep-seated problem of gender-based discrimination at its source. Real societal transformation takes time. For now, we are focused internally on improving gender parity in leadership roles; further diversifying our recruiting sources; and taking a harder than ever look at who we hire, reward, and empower."

Eater has exposed or reported numerous allegations of sexual harassment and other offensive behavior in the restaurant industry in recent months. Last December, the publication broke the story on celebrity chef Mario Batali's alleged sexual misconduct, and has covered accusations against chefs John Besh and Johnny Iuzzini, staffers at Applebee's and IHOP, food-oriented filmmaker Morgan Spurlock, and others — most recently reporting on a chicken stand owner who threatened "fake customers" who left negative reviews on Yelp.

In the wake of the powerful #MeToo movement, Korsh and Bae join numerous other chefs and high-profile figures in other fields accused of sexual harassment and misconduct. All this and more makes the need for kitchen reform one of the most important lessons we learned about food in the last year.

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