News about Matthew Kenney

A new report about celebrity vegan chef Matthew Kenney paints a picture of deceit, unpaid bills and inappropriate relationships within his restaurant empire spanning 30 years. Seventeen of Kenney's restaurants have shuttered since 2021 with 60 former employees, investors and business associates coming forward to tell the Times about a pattern of 'chaotic and reckless management' by Kenney.

Matthew Kenney, the ex of disgraced New York restaurateur Sarma Melngailis, is depicted in a tale of deception, abandonment, and unpaid bills.

The Los Angeles Times features a picture of decay, mismanagement, and unpaid bills surrounding Matthew Kenney, the ex of disgraced New York restaurateur Sarma Melngailis. After she took over $250,000 from investors and employees at a restaurant that Kenney helped open, she was already seen in Netflix's 'Bad Vegan' in 2022. After several former and current workers at Kenney eateries told the Times that their paychecks often bounce, Kenney, 59, is now being accused of eerily similar schemes. Several people used to work at one of six Kenney restaurants in the Los Angeles area, and they've all complained about how he continues to provide influencers with comps of up to $10,000. Kenney, on the other hand, is worth $20 million. On five continents, he has more than 50 restaurants.

Melngailis pleaded guilty to multiple fraud charges in 2017 after swindling nearly $2 million from investors and shaming employees with her then-husband before going on the run. In Netflix's 'Bad Vegan,' she was portrayed, with the former restaurateur claiming she used the money to pay back her employees. She is now working to reopen the celebrity-studded raw food hotspot, which was once one of New York Magazines Top 100 Restaurants, and had Hollywood A-listers come through its doors before closing in 2016. Alec Baldwin founded Pure Food & Wine in 2004, shortly after becoming friends with the chef at the time of her triumph. Anthony Strangis, her ex-husband who reportedly earned her respect by interacting with Baldwin on Twitter, ruled her. According to Page Six, the convicted fraudster is now courting investors to reopen the restaurant, taking them to the former location of her raw restaurant. In 2004, she co-founded Pure Food and Wine with her then-boyfriend Matthew Kenney, attracting a following of A-list followers, including Chelsea Clinton, Tom Brady, Owen Wilson, and Woody Harrelson.