Celebrity vegan chef requests new trial against restaurant chain
A celebrity vegan chef has asked a US court for a new trial against a restaurant chain she founded, which she claims continued to use her name and likeness after she sold the business.
The motion, filed at the US District for the Central District of California on Friday, October 23 by Tanya Petrovna, said the jury was not given sufficient evidence for it to find that the chef was harmed when the restaurant breached its contract.
The dispute dates to 2015, when Petrovna sued the owners of Native Foods, a chain of vegan restaurants she founded in 1990.
In 2008, she sold the chain to new owners but under the terms of the agreement, she remained employed by the business.
But, she said in 2011 it became clear that the new owners “were not committed to the founding principles of Native Goods, specifically the vegan diet”.
Following this, in 2013 Petrovna left the business via a settlement and release agreement, which required that the restaurant owners cease any use of the chef’s name, likeness, and image.
But, according to the complaint, the restaurant owners continued to use the phrase ‘Chef Tanya’ on the advertising of the restaurant, including on its website.
In her original complaint, the chef said she has come to be known worldwide as “Chef Tanya” and therefore, has common law trademark rights to the moniker.
Additionally, she said the restaurant used her “notoriety worldwide as a leading vegan chef” to attract customers through videos on its YouTube channel.
Petrovna said this would mislead consumers into believing there was an affiliation or connection between her and the restaurants.
But, in September, a jury found that while the restaurant had used her likeness, it had not it gained a commercial advantage by doing so, nor had it breached its contract.
Additionally, it found that ‘Chef Tanya’ is not a valid, enforceable trademark.
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