When Fish! restaurant owner Tony Allan told British daily newspaper The Mirror that celebrity chef Marco Pierre White “had served real ink to a customer in place of squid ink in a dish of braised cuttlefish in one of his restaurants” in 1988, he could not have imagined facing the £100,000 damages and £1.5m legal costs he is today, having settled libel action out of court.
Go deeper with GlobalData
Discover B2B Marketing That Performs
Combine business intelligence and editorial excellence to reach engaged professionals across 36 leading media platforms.
As Allen, who is also chairman of fish and meat supply company Fish, and White, his former friend, paced the corridors moments after the case officially began, their lawyers negotiated the costly settlement, to include a full apology.
Judge Oliver Popplewell then explained to the court that Allen had admitted that his suggestion that White “was dishonest in his business dealings … or has otherwise behaved improperly in any way is also completely untrue.”
The first chef in Britain to be awarded three Michelin stars, White meanwhile let a spokesman speak for him: “The settlement of these proceedings will come as a great relief to my family, friends, co-directors and shareholders.”
US Tariffs are shifting - will you react or anticipate?
Don’t let policy changes catch you off guard. Stay proactive with real-time data and expert analysis.
By GlobalData
