Chef Michael Noble pleads not guilty to sexual assault

A high-profile Calgary chef has pleaded not guilty to sexual assault charges involving an employee.

Michael Noble is the owner of award-winning restaurants The Nash in Inglewood and Notable in Montgomery. He was named the city's best chef by Best of Calgary in April and is the only Canadian chef to appear on the original Iron Chef television show in Japan.

On Jan. 29, Noble is accused of following a 21-year-old woman into a bathroom at a social gathering that took place at a lounge in the 200 block of Eighth Avenue S.W.

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It's alleged he cornered the victim in a stall and sexually assaulted her, before she pushed him away and left the bathroom, the Calgary Police Service said in early May.

"A not guilty plea has been entered," Noble's legal counsel Jennifer Ruttan told CBC News in a statement Wednesday.

"Mr. Noble denies the allegations and will continue to rigorously defend his innocence. Mr. Noble is confident that the court process will properly dispose of the accusation against him."

A statement of claim filed in March and obtained by CBC News details the alleged attack from the victim's perspective, in her own writing.

'I did not consent to this'

According to the woman, on the night in question, all staff from Noble's restaurants, Notable and The Nash, had gone to Sub Rosa for a dinner and cocktail event.

She alleges that, around 1:45 a.m., Noble followed her into the washroom and into a stall.

"He proceeded to grope me, and eventually insert his fingers into my body," she said.

The woman said Noble insisted that everything was OK and that no one would find out.

"I did not consent to this," she said. "I was heavily drinking at the staff party."

The trial is set to begin March 11, 2019.

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