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Esora terminates Japanese chef on multiple accounts of alleged mistreatment

Esora terminates Japanese chef on multiple accounts of alleged mistreatment

SINGAPORE - Esora, a one Michelin-starred fine-dining Japanese restaurant portfolio under the Lo & Behold Group, has fired its chef Shigeru Koizumi.

While terminations are not uncommon in the industry – a public termination, such as this one issued a day ago, is.

In posts across their social media presence, the group said that it had terminated its relationship with chef Shigeru Koizumi "after an internal investigation into multiple accounts of mistreatment."

"As a company, we are committed to providing a safe and positive work environment for all our staff and cannot accept any behaviour that jeopardises this."

The company provided no further elaboration to their decision.

Esora reopened in 2021 after its closure in 2019, and earned its first Michelin star in the same year it reopened. Allegations about staff mistreatment have dogged Koizumi before 2019.

Esora will now be helmed by its new head chef Takeshi Araki, who has under his belt four years at the three Michelin-starred Tokyo restaurant Nihonryori RyuGin. He is joined by returning Chef de Cuisine Noboru Shimohigashi, most recently from three Michelin-starred Odette.