TV Chef From Bergen County Hit With New Charge Of Sex Assault Against Minor: Prosecutors

BERGEN COUNTY, NJ — Days after sex assault charges against a Fair Lawn-based TV chef were dismissed, prosecutors have announced new charges dating to 2016.

The Bergen County Prosecutor's Office said Thursday that Shalom "Sal" Yehudiel, 40, of Fair Lawn, has been charged with sexually assaulting a minor over the course of a six-month period from 2016 to 2017.

He was charged Tuesday with one count of second-degree sexual assault and one count of third-degree endangering the welfare of a child, who was between 14 and 15 years old at the time, prosecutors said.

Prior charges for Yehudiel — who had owned two Teaneck restaurants and had appeared on the Food Network's "Chopped" — were dropped this week, the Record of Hackensack reported.

But the outlet reported that as he was trying to leave JFK Airport in Queens to head to Bangkok on Tuesday, he was arrested again.

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 Thursday.

The alleged assaults against the minor occurred between November 2016 and April 2017, according to Union County Assistant Prosecutor Caroline Lawlor, who is prosecuting the case.

Yehudiel is currently in custody in New York City, awaiting extradition, Bergen County prosecutors said.

A conviction on "second-degree charges of this nature" could be punished by 5-10 years in state prison, the Bergen County Prosecutor's Office said, and third-degree conviction could run from 3-5 years.

Further Information

They said the investigation is 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.