In A Suprise Move, Jay Z Sues Long Time Personal Chef
Part of being a mogul is making sure you get what you pay for, and that your brand is well respected and all things related to your brand are at the level that your consumers expect.
Sometimes this means taking legal action; even to someone who is close to you. Business is Business.
Jay-Z who claims to be a business himself, is suing famed chef Mike Shand for basically not delivering to the Jay-Z brands expectations. Shand used to be Jay-Z’s personal chef, who then took over the food responsibilities at his 40/40 Club. Jay is hitting Shand with a $1.5 million suit claiming that Shand failed to perform and deliver per expectations. His failure to deliver cost the club in profits and reputation or as the suit states,
“costing the club lost profits, loss of good will [and] alienation of clientele.”
Shand, who is reportedly in California now, let his attorney Vik Pawar do the talking for him regarding this issue. Pawar says,
“Mike’s a great chef, and it is unclear why 40/40 would contemplate a lawsuit against him.”
Shand has worked with Alicia Keys, Rod Stewart, Prince and Paul McCartney. He catered Beyoncé’s Experience tour back in 2007 and just recently Jay-Z and Kanye West’s “Watch the Throne Tour”.
Shand has said that the key to his success was being humble and “getting on with your business”. Originally from New Zealand, he told a local New Zealand magazine,
“Being a private chef for me, means letting go of your ego. Cooking privately, your whole aim is to cook to others’ taste and be observant to their individual preferences. In the life of a private chef; adaptability, versatility and consistency are king,”
However there is a big difference between being a personal chef and working a kitchen.
Just coming off the “Watch the Throne” tour you can understand why Shand and his attorney are surprised by the legal action.
It is not clear if Shand is responsible for the early closure of the New York location when they failed a health inspection back in January. The inspector gave the club 69 violation points, far in excess of the 28 needed for a worst-possible “C” grade. Food was found at room temperature, five pounds of cooked mashed potatoes, were left out at a temperature of 89 degrees, while 10 pounds of cooked rice and 50 turkey burgers were kept at 67 degrees.
The corrections were made and the restaurant was reopened.
Does Shand even have 1.5 million dollars? A quick stalk of his twitter page and his facebook give no response to the pending law suit.
Jay-Z plans to open a third 40-40 location in the New Barclays Center will the Brooklyn Nets will play.
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