Brigantessa cook faces child porn charges

A South Philly cook was charged by authorities in Monmouth County, NJ, with uploading child pornography on his dad’s computer.

Charges for Taylor Hecht, who workedas a cook at Brigantessa on Passyunk Avenue, came after the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children tipped off New Jersey prosecutors.

The charges against Hecht form a strange trend-let that has swept Philly’s restaurant scene. He is the second food-slingerfrom a high-profile eatery to face child porn charges in recent weeks. The other is Alex Carpasso, a chef and partner atCrow and Pitcher in Rittenhouse Square.

Hecht was arrested on Thursday at his home in Philadelphia. Bail was set at $125,000 and he remained in jail at the Monmouth County Correctional Facility but if he is released he is not allowed to have access to the internet or contact with anyone under 18, NJ.com reported.

Brigantessa released a statement saying Hecht was no longer working at the restaurant.

“Taylor Hecht was still within his 90-day trial period at work. He did not show up for the past several days and could not be reached by phone, so we had already considered him terminated,” the statement read. “Taylor is not welcome back in the restaurant. These allegations are unacceptable and disgusting to all of us here at Brigantessa.”

According to his LinkedIn profile, Hecht is a graduate of The Restaurant School, and also worked as a butcher at Cannibal NYC.