TV chef James Cochran has found himself caught up in a copyright dispute with the restaurant he used to work for, which has reportedly continued to trade under the ‘James Cochran’ name since his departure.
The BBC Great British Menu star previously worked at London-based James Cochran EC3, but decided to leave the restaurant for pastures new earlier this year.
Since he left, Rayeula, the company behind James Cochran EC3, has reportedly continued to trade under the same name.
On top of this, it has trademarked the popular chef’s name and has begun selling the rights to his famous recipes online, a report in The Times reveals.
Ahead of Mr Cochran’s appearance on the BBC Two show, Rayeula set up a website advertising the use of the emerging star’s name and recipes to restaurants and pubs for a fee of £25 a week.
The website was branded as ‘jamescochran.co.uk’.
In recent days, the former two Michelin Star chef has spoken out about the issue on Twitter, claiming that his former employer is attempting to “cash in” on his name at a time when he is rising to prominence on TV.
“Anyone wanna buy me? My ex-employers are the lowest of low trying to sell off my name as recipe plans,” he said.
Across social media, other celebrity chefs including Tom Brown and Ellis Barrie have voiced their support for Mr Cochran, describing Rayeula’s actions as “mad” and unacceptable.
In response, a spokesperson on behalf of Rayeula has said that the company trademarked Mr Cochran’s name long before he left the restaurant and secured his appearance on Great British Menu.
They said: “Along with a broad range of misconceptions being repeated in the public domain—such as the factually incorrect statement that James Cochran the chef is disallowed from using his own name—the owners of the James Cochran trademark are disappointed that no one has reported that not only have they attempted to negotiate with James at various points regarding his acquiring ownership of the trademark, but they remain open to negotiation.”