Celebrity TV chef Jamie Oliver’s recently-opened restaurant Fifteen, in Shoreditch, N1, is being sued for damages by the owner of the adjacent property.
In a High Court writ made public today, local developers Vraj and Joshna Pankhania, who own the “Chocolate Factory” mixed-use residential and office development in Westland Place next door to Fifteen, claim that builders erecting a kitchen extractor flue for the restaurant trespassed on the Pankhanias’ land while doing so.
The flue ends around 16 ft (5m) from the window of a penthouse flat in the Chocolate Factory and the Pankhanias say that this will mean they make a loss on the sale of their property.
Matthew Blake of the Pankhanias’ solicitor, Kenneth Cunningham & Co, declined to comment on how much his client was claiming, saying only that the amount was “to be assessed”.
But Denton Wilde Sapte solicitor Julian Cridge, acting for Fifteen, said: “Relevant planning consents were obtained for the erection of the extractor. Our client utterly denies the allegations and will strongly defend the claim.”
Fifteen restaurant, which opened three weeks ago, is a registered charity and the subject of current Channel 4 TV series Jamie’s Kitchen.
The restaurant’s chefs are selected from applicants described as “disadvantaged youths” and then trained by Oliver, who has said that he will repeat the process each year. Fifteen opened three months late and £1m over budget, after a planning dispute between Oliver and Hackney council.
The council claimed that Oliver’s original application, submitted last April, “lacked certain details, making it invalid”.
But Oliver said that the council made “various mistakes” which it dismissed as “totally unfounded”.
Before the opening, Oliver – who previously worked at the River Café and came to fame as presenter of the BBC show The Naked Chef – said: “If it all goes tits up, it’s me, my house that goes, personally – and my office. It’s really scary and, for once, it hasn’t been exaggerated.”
EGi News 06/12/02
