Chef turns up the heat and forces café to change name

Published on Thursday 28 May 2009 22:03

ONE serves up pigs' heads and langoustine tails, the other trades in cakes and pies.

But one of the most fashionable dining spots in the capital is embroiled in an unseemly spat with the owner of a humble neighbouring caf.

Tom Kitchin, Scotland's youngest Michelin-rated chef, has forced the owner of a new takeaway/bistro just a few hundred yards from his Leith eaterie to change its name after threatening legal action, claiming its tongue-in cheek brand was too similar to his own.

Mr Kitchin, who won a coveted Michelin star just months after opening The Kitchin in the Shore area, called in lawyers to force Len McCarthy to drop the name "Kitsch-In", despite it specialising in baked potatoes, toasties, pies and cakes.

Mr Kitchin's lawyers claimed the new venture would confuse customers and harm the reputation of the chef, one of the stars of this weekend's Taste of Edinburgh festival in Edinburgh.

But the threat of legal action has been called off after Mr McCarthy agreed to shorten the name to "Kitsch". He told of his dismay that Mr Kitchin did not come to see him before calling in lawyers, claiming it was "ridiculous" to suggest he was setting up in competition.

But he said he was left with no option but to change the name after fearing he could be left bankrupt. He was forced to scrap all the signs and branding he had put up around the caf and have all the menus binned.

Mr Kitchin has insisted he was only trying to protect the name of his restaurant and bore no ill-feeling towards his neighbour.

He opened his restaurant at Commercial Quay with his wife, Michaela, and his father, Ron, three years ago.

Mr McCarthy, who set up his caf with business partner Alison Kennedy, said he received a solicitor's letter almost immediately after opening up.

He said: "We thought up the name ourselves. One of our friends said Tom Kitchin might not be too happy, but we thought there would be no way we'd have a problem with Kitsch-In.

"The next thing we had a letter from his solicitors ordering us to change the name or we would be pursued for damages.

"We were pretty taken aback. It just seemed ridiculous to think we were any kind of competition. We thought about contesting it, but our lawyer said we could've end up having to pay tens of thousands of pounds in damages if we'd lost."

Michaela Kitchin said: "As far as we're concerned, this has been resolved amicably."