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Chef of Silicon Valley Burmese Restaurant Accused of Sexual Harassment

A lawsuit alleges the chef of Burma Taste restaurant sexually harassed a young server

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Lauren Saria is the editor of Eater SF and has been writing about food, drinks, and restaurants for more than a decade.

The chef of a Silicon Valley Burmese restaurant has been accused of sexually harassing a female server in a lawsuit filed with Santa Clara County Superior Court, the Mercury News reports. According to the paper, the lawsuit indicates a server at the restaurant is accusing chef Sai Sakham Chou of Burma Taste, a Burmese restaurant located on Murphy Avenue, of “repeated verbal and physical sexual harassment.” The former employee, who resigned after working at the restaurant for about a year, is identified as Jane Doe in the complaint, which was filed on February 17.

The restaurant’s owners, Win Min Thant and Khin Sandi Thu, are also named in the complaint. According to the paper, the complaint “alleges that the owners and chef created a hostile work environment, and that the owners failed to prevent her sexual harassment by their chef, retaliated when Doe complained and threatened other Burma Taste employees with termination if they assisted Doe in filing the suit.” Doe told the paper she felt “embarrassed and degraded” by the chef’s behavior; as an immigrant from Myanmar, she said it’s rare for people from her culture to speak up with accusations like this.

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