New Jersey 'Chopped' Chef Attacked In NYC Jail: Report

BERGEN COUNTY, NJ — Shalom "Sal" Yehudiel, the former "Chopped" chef contestant accused of sex crimes against a minor, was attacked in jail on Rikers Island in New York City Friday, according to reports and city records.

"He cannot move his arm," the Fair Lawn chef's lawyers told NJ.com. "As of Sunday (was) still throwing up blood."

Yehudiel, 40, was arrested on child sex assault charges at John F. Kennedy Airport, where he was about to board a plane to Thailand, on Aug. 8, according to Bergen County prosecutors and the Record of Hackensack.

Years-old sex crime charges against Yehudial had just been dismissed the day before.

Yehudial has been held without bail at the Eric M. Taylor Center on Rikers Island since Aug. 8, New York City Correction department records show.

The Fair Lawn chef was charged with sexual assault and endangering the welfare of a child between 14 and 15 years old between November 2016 and April 2017, New Jersey prosecutors said.

The investigation was transferred in April from the Bergen County Prosecutor's Office to the Union County Prosecutor's office "as the result of a conflict of interest," the Bergen County office said last Thursday.

Union County Assistant Prosecutor Caroline Lawlor will pursue the case.

Yehudiel could face up to 10 years in state prison if convicted of the top charge, the Bergen County Prosecutor's Office said.

Yehudiel appeared on "Chopped" on the Food Network in September 2020.

Further Information

Prosecutors said last week that the investigation was continuing, and anyone with further information about Yehudial is urged to contact Union County Special Victims Unit Detective Jessica Tattoli at (908) 965-3885.

The Jewish Standard reported about the initial charges in 2022, saying that an activist group against sexual assaults in the Orthodox community had picketed one of his Bergen County restaurants, the Humble Toast in Teaneck. He also owns La Cucina Di Nava in Teaneck.

Read more about the prior charges here.