French chef Boulud's restaurant fined US$1.3 million for wire in dinner

[webfact]

Celeb chef hit with $1.3M fine for serving metal wire in dinner

By Julia Marsh

 

Restaurateur Daniel Boulud must have choked on his Bordeaux when he heard this news

 

NEW YORK: -- A Manhattan jury hit the famed chef’s Midtown restaurant, db Bistro Moderne, with a $1.3 million slap for serving a diner a piece of wire brush in a $32 plate of coq au vin.

 

The five woman, three man federal court jury awarded $300,000 to retired lawyer Barry Brett Thursday for injuries to his esophagus, then heaped on another $1 million as a warning to the restaurant and other eateries against using cheap metal brushes to clean dishes.

 

“In speaking with the jurors afterwards, they were shocked that one of the most famous chefs in the world had no oversight, no polices, no procedures, no nothing which would have prevented this incident from occurring,” said Brett’s attorney Elizabeth Eilender.

 

Full story: http://nypost.com/2016/10/27/celeb-chef-hit-with-1-3m-fine-for-serving-metal-wire-in-dinner/

 

-- NEW YORK POST 2016-11-01

[Kasset Tak]

This is just a reminder to never do business in/with US!

It's laws and suing for anything is just ridiculous! There are alternatives to steel brushes to keep a clean kitchen, they are more expensive and usually you use a lot more chemicals but of course in this case they used a cheap Chinese steel brush and not an expensive one that's "Made in America" and that's probably the real problem....

[4evermaat]

Legal Powerball Lottery.....only in America, lol.

The 2nd best time to plant a tree is today.

[Credo]

Many years ago, I worked in a restaurant and it was strictly illegal to use metal scrubbing pads to clean dishes.   There had been a number of instances of people getting pieces of metal from it.   

 

I have a feeling he won't be using them any longer and that it why these damages were awarded.   

[mercman24]

typical USA, father in law, was involved in a rear end bump. at 4mph, stop and go traffic, guy got out of his big 4 x 4. ok  no problem, not even a scratch on either vehicle, off he goes, next thing f.i.l. gets a huge hospital bill, so this guy goes home and thinks hold on a minute i can have a full hospital check and charge it to him.

[impulse]

Could it be a warning to chew your food instead of a spin at the lawsuit lottery?

[Prbkk]

I feel vindicated in my choice only to use paper plates.

[Deez]

Wouldn't even get your money back if it happened in Thailand

[Prbkk]

3 minutes ago, Deez said:

Wouldn't even get your money back if it happened in Thailand

 

Probably get charged extra for the iron supplement 

[Baerboxer]

Ridiculous. The American court's idea of "punitive" damages are a joke and have no concept in reality. Like a lot of their verdicts.

[F4UCorsair]

Interesting that the affected diner was a lawyer.

[Monkeyrobot]

2 hours ago, Deez said:

Wouldn't even get your money back if it happened in Thailand

No , and they would not pay your hospital bill either . If you had not gone to the restaurant  it would not have happened. It's your fault. 

[SiSePuede419]

It's a jury award.  They will appeal.  The appeal judge will reduce the punitive damages.

 

Don't get your knickers in a twist.

[SOTIRIOS]

...another Chipotle......???

[Jonmarleesco]

14 hours ago, Kasset Tak said:

This is just a reminder to never do business in/with US!

It's laws and suing for anything is just ridiculous! There are alternatives to steel brushes to keep a clean kitchen, they are more expensive and usually you use a lot more chemicals but of course in this case they used a cheap Chinese steel brush and not an expensive one that's "Made in America" and that's probably the real problem....

While in LoS, the Baht penalty would have seen a zero lopped off the end, with 80% then finding its way into a pocket or two.

[Jonmarleesco]

7 hours ago, Baerboxer said:

Ridiculous. The American court's idea of "punitive" damages are a joke and have no concept in reality. Like a lot of their verdicts.

Like Thailand courts. Just the opposite end of the spectrum.

[owenm]

Many years ago in Melbourne, Australia,  over a period of 6 weeks, I had a strand of wire in a pasta dish served at a restaurant, a metal staple in the hamburger mince I was eating from a takeaway burger joint, and third a large black dead spider baked in a hamburger bun, from different establishment. They say many things occur in threes. And none ever since. I got  apologies, some free vouches. Had I been in the US, could have been very well off with the lawsuits..

And in Thailand, I'd get a sorry and a smile, if I was lucky!!  

Edited November 1, 2016 by owenm

[Khon Kaen Dave]

Chef made a coq up there.

[louse1953]

Isn't anything safe from a good ol Thai bash?

[adhd]

so a rat dropping in my f...i japanese restaurant was laughed away

 

and cockroaches in most thai restaurants comes with a sorry

 

a worm in M.. restaurant soup is just extra protein

[ballpoint]

40 minutes ago, adhd said:

so a rat dropping in my f...i japanese restaurant was laughed away

 

and cockroaches in most thai restaurants comes with a sorry

 

a worm in M.. restaurant soup is just extra protein

It's getting worse.  Last night I was munching away on a bag of fried grasshoppers down on Sukhumvit and found a piece of bread in there.