A person who was promised the “likelihood of a lifetime” from Man Fieri filed a lawsuit in opposition to the superstar chef, alleging that the Meals Community star’s firm didn’t dwell as much as the supply he gave to the winner of his actuality present.
Kevin Cooper received “Man’s Probability of a Lifetime” in 2022, a actuality competitors present that promised the winner their franchise of Fieri’s Hen Man! restaurant chain. Cooper, nonetheless, alleges Fieri’s firm breached a contract in a criticism filed final week within the Japanese District of Pennsylvania.
Fieri just isn’t personally a defendant within the lawsuit, however his firm, Hen Man, in addition to the corporate of his enterprise companion. A consultant for Fieri didn’t instantly reply to a request for remark.
The “King of Flavortown” instructed contestants within the present’s finale that one in every of them would earn the important thing to the franchise with a “full restaurant construct out.” Fieri additionally promised different perks, together with a primary 12 months’s wage and start-up capital.
Cooper’s franchise opened in February 2024 and closed roughly a 12 months later.
The lawsuit alleges that the 2 firms behind the rooster model failed to offer the promised $100,000 wage and didn’t cowl greater than $68,000 value of bills associated to the franchise.
The competition winner alleges that he needed to take out a private mortgage of $13,500 to cowl a few of the value on account of Fieri’s delay, in line with the lawsuit. Cooper’s lawsuit requests full fee of the promised wage and reimbursement of the bills.
“Man’s Probability of a Lifetime” initially aired on Meals Community in late 2021 and early 2022, with solely six episodes. Within the finale, Fieri declares Cooper because the first-place winner however guarantees to waive franchise charges for all the opposite contestants in the event that they select to open up a Hen Man! location of their very own.
Fieri instructed Cooper that he confirmed “a lot power” all through the competitors and promised to open Cooper’s franchise in Cooper’s hometown of Philadelphia.
Cooper was in tears after profitable the grand prize.
“That is loopy proper now, I can not even consider it,” Cooper mentioned. “However I actually got here right here and fought the toughest struggle I may probably struggle. And I am simply blissful, I am grateful, and I am grateful. And I am simply misplaced for phrases.”
