A few weeks ago, a woman filed a shocking sexual-harassment suit against a celebrated and powerful New York City figure — and it wasn’t Harvey Weinstein.

Gabrielle Eubank claimed chef Todd English and members of his Plaza Hotel Food Hall staff sexually harassed her, alleging that English — who has long been dogged by his womanizing behavior out of the kitchen — gave her unwanted hugs and repeatedly kissed her on the cheek.

“Mr. English then began flagrantly propositioning Ms. Eubanks on the floor, saying she was ‘sexy’ and that he’s ‘surprised you’re still single,’” court papers say. He then tried to “kiss her on the lips, forcing her to turn away,” the papers say.

This was on top of a lawsuit filed by former and current English employees — six women, including hospitality coordinator Dana Lewis and hostess Crystal Washington — in August. “Female employees [at the Food Hall] are forced to endure a culture of a different type — rape culture,” the court document reads, going on to detail how male staffers are sexually suggestive with pens, cucumbers, and bananas and have been known to tell female colleagues, “I want to take you to the back and f–k the s–t out of you.”

A rep for English had no comment.

Restaurants have long had a reputation for butt-grabbing antics, but it has rarely been talked about, and accusers’ silence was often bought in the form of settlements. But now, with Hollywood heavyweight Weinstein being exposed as a serial sexual predator — and actually getting punished for it — the kitchen timer may finally be going off.

“I think there will be a big increase in lawsuits with all of the added press” about allegations against entertainment-industry bigs like Weinstein, Kevin Spacey and director Brett Ratner, said a 10-year restaurant veteran, who has worked as a waiter and host but didn’t want to be named for fear of being blacklisted. “And I don’t think these places will be able to handle it. Some of these venues will go bankrupt.”

The restaurant world was rocked two weeks ago when “Top Chef” and “Food Network Challenge” judge John Besh stepped down from his New Orleans-based restaurant group after an eight-month investigation by the Times-Picayune newspaper uncovered a culture where “vulgar and offensive comments, aggressive unwelcome touching and sexual advances were condoned and sometimes even encouraged by managers and supervisors.”

And here in New York City, plenty of ugliness is boiling over, even beyond English’s kitchen.

Carmen Fontanez, a dishwasher at Le Bilboquet, filed a suit last week saying she was repeatedly groped by a male co-worker in front of their manager, who did nothing. She was fired in 2016.

In June, EN Japanese Brasserie chef Abe Hiroki was sued by his former manager, Mayumi Bardiovsky, who claimed he engaged in unwanted touching of her rear end and simulating sex. (According to Bardiovsky’s attorney, the case has since been settled.)

Many more females, sources told The Post, are keeping their stories of abuse quiet.

“Women are incredibly afraid to come forward,” said attorney Zoe Salzman, a partner at Emery Celli Brinckerhoff & Abady. “If it’s true of Hollywood actresses like Ashley Judd and Angelina Jolie, it has to be even more true for women who don’t have the financial and personal resources that actresses have. The restaurant industry, like a lot of industries, is marked by that same power dynamic.”

The 10-year restaurant veteran says he’s seen it all, but that sexual misconduct has long been accepted in the kitchen.

“Sexual harassment is in the fabric of the hospitality industry in New York City,” he said. As a gay man, he said he has been both victim of and witness to rampant sexual harassment at the hands of managers and owners, including being called a “f—-t.”

He has also seen managers proposition waitresses for sex in exchange for better shifts.

“We have numerous Harvey Weinsteins . . . It’s accepted that this kind of stuff happens,” he said. “It’s not right, but . . . at the end of the night, I go home and can pay my rent.”

According to a study by the Restaurant Opportunities Centers United, there are numbers to support this sleazy narrative.

A staggering 66 percent of female and more than half of male restaurant employees reported having been sexually harassed by managers; 80 percent of women and 70 percent of men said they were victimized by co-workers.

One former New York City restaurant hostess, who quit the business two months ago out of disgust, described her job to The Post as being “part of the decor.”

“There was a lot of ‘ickiness’ that came along with that. All the corporate representatives [from headquarters] were older white guys who would hit on the greeters, but since they were your superior, you just had to take it and smile,” said the woman, who is in her mid-20s.



“There also seemed to be an unspoken rule that only women could be hired to work the front desk — our only uniform option was a tight dress, and we were told to have ‘date-ready makeup’ — it was pretty clear that the company considered us . . . young, pretty women for men in suits to come flirt with after work.”

Another ingredient that complicates the dynamic is when consensual relationships sour. In August, Julian Medina, a married dad and chef-owner of Toloache was sued by a bartender who claimed he secretly videotaped her giving him oral sex. She said he later ended the consensual relationship and threatened to smear her reputation with other restaurants in New York if she blabbed.

At the time, lawyers for Medina told The Post, “Julian is innocent of the charges.” The case reportedly has been settled.

A sommelier who has worked in the city’s top restaurants explained how the lines can become blurred in the workplace.

“I have heard of famous chefs who are married and sleeping with waitresses and assistants. Why would a chef who heads up a multimillion-dollar restaurant group risk it all? It comes down to the industry. [Working in a restaurant is] fun, it’s late nights, it’s sensual — and that’s where the bad decision-making comes into play.”

Employment attorney Maimon Kirschenbaum said the bad behavior is so accepted that some employees don’t even seem to realize when they are being abused. He recently met with a potential client about a case concerning a tipping discrepancy, and she casually mentioned that the owner of the restaurant where she worked had put his hand up her dress and propositioned her.

“She said it in passing, like it wasn’t a big deal,” Kirschenbaum said. “She was more concerned about the tips.”

But Salzman sees a silver lining in the Weinstein downfall.

“This case is inspiring so many women, even women who are in low-income jobs [will hopefully] feel that they too can stand up and speak out,” she said. “They know now that what is happening is illegal.”