Fine-dining eatery fires chef over accounts of staff mistreatment

Esora, a one-Michelin-starred Japanese fine-dining restaurant in Mohamed Sultan Road, has fired its head chef Shigeru Koizumi over multiple accounts of mistreatment of staff.

Esora said in an Instagram post yesterday that the sacking came after an internal investigation. The same post was on the Instagram account of Esora's owner, The Lo & Behold Group.

"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," it said.

A spokesman for the restaurant group declined to comment when contacted.

Esora, which opened in 2018, serves modern kappo food, where many of the courses are prepared or plated in front of guests.

The restaurant earned its Michelin star last year.

Chef Koizumi has previously worked at three-Michelin-starred Ryugin in Tokyo, as well as Hachi and Odette in Singapore.

The new head chef of the 19-seat restaurant is Mr Takeshi Araki, who had been the No. 2 chef.

Former employees of Esora declined to comment, even as the Instagram post generated a lot of buzz.

Some berated the restaurant group for making the firing public, saying it would affect the chef's livelihood. Others praised it for taking a stand against an abusive staff member.

Public firings because of mistreatment in restaurant kitchens are rare in the food and beverage industry in Singapore.

The last time a case was made public was in 2011, when Swedish chef Ebbe Vollmer left Jaan at Swissotel The Stamford after he apparently hit a subordinate during a meal service. The chef denied hitting the staff member, and the hotel said at the time that he had left for personal reasons.

Diners contacted said they were surprised by the development at Esora.

One of them, a 48-year-old engineer who dined there recently and declined to be named, said: "The food was exquisite, service was commensurate with expectations. Didn't have an inkling of any mistreatment going on.

"In fact, his staff seemed very supportive of him and his work. Very surprised."

Mr Paul Yao, a 62-year-old retiree who dines at the restaurant at least four times a year, said: "The food is excellent. Service is warm and friendly. Everyone looks measured, and as diners, we would never know what really goes on."