A legal battle between a former Zambrero chief executive and the founder of the Mexican fast food chain has been settled after the ex-boss was accused of exaggerating his role at the company before launching a new restaurant.
The Australian founder of the popular food chain, Sam Prince, had taken Stuart Cook to the Federal Court earlier this year, alleging he had made misleading statements about his time at Zambrero.
Mr. Cook was Zambrero’s chief executive from 2009 to 2015 and is also the founding partner of the entrepreneur advisory firm, TWIYO, which stands for “the world is your oyster.”
Dr Prince, whose fortune is reportedly worth $1.6bn, sued Mr Cook in February this year for alleged “misleading or deceptive conduct”.
The case was settled in June and Mr Stuart, who denied the allegations, was not ordered to pay any costs.
Mr Cook, without admitting any liability and without admitting that he made misleading statements, agreed not to pursue a number of claims.
These included statements that he ‘created Zambrero, was solely responsible for developing Zambrero during his time as CEO, is responsible for its success and expanded the business from two stores to 100 with another 250 pre-sold,’ the court document states.
Mr. Cook also agreed not to make any claims about his time with Zambrero in connection with one of his recent business ventures that has since collapsed: the plant-based burger and salad restaurant Flave.
The Australian founder of the popular food chain, Sam Prince, had taken Stuart Cook (pictured with his wife Samantha Cook) to the Federal Court earlier this year, alleging he had made misleading statements about his time with Zambrero.
Zambrero founder Sam Prince (pictured), who is reportedly worth around $1.6 billion, sued his former CEO earlier this year for alleged “misleading or deceptive conduct.”
He agreed not to “make any representation that Flave had the same management team as Zambrero; and Flave’s management team had been responsible for expanding Zambrero to over 100 locations.”
Mr Cook declined to comment on the case.
He had already made headlines in December 2022 when he crowdfunded for the plant-based products business he created with his wife Samantha Cook.
He gave several interviews to the media and Flave received almost $900,000 from 510 investors.
During the crowdfunding, Flave was described as having “the same management team that took the Zambrero restaurant chain to over 100 locations.”
In a webinar held for those interested in investing with Flave, Mr. Cook detailed his experience in business, including his time at Zambrero.
“I was the former CEO of Zambrero, I took it from two restaurants to 100 restaurants and then I left,” he said.
The Mexican chain was founded by Mr. Prince in 2005.
Zambrero has grown to 265 restaurants worldwide, including in Australia, the United States, the United Kingdom and New Zealand.
The Cooks had created the vegan restaurant Flave with celebrity chef Scott Findlay.
In 2012, it had 20 stores, which grew to 100 in 2015, and now Zambrero has 265 restaurants around the world, including Australia, the United States, the United Kingdom and New Zealand.
Before the case was settled, Dr. Prince had accused Mr. Cook of taking credit for Zambrero’s success in interviews and podcasts.
The case was dismissed by the court on June 13.
This follows the collapse of Flave, whose two stores in Bondi, in Sydney’s east, closed in the middle of last year. The first store opened in late 2021.
Flave’s website is no longer available, even though the company aims to expand to 1,000 stores within 10 years.
The Cooks had started the business in 2020.
Mrs Cook suffered a bacterial infection after drinking a coconut during her honeymoon with Mr Cook in Costa Rica and was told she needed to follow a plant-based diet.
The Cooks had opened their first Flave store in Bondi in late 2021, but the business has since closed.
The couple launched plant-based business Flave after Cook fell ill on their honeymoon and was encouraged to start a vegan diet.
This eventually led to the birth of Flave, with all meals developed by celebrity chef Scott Findlay, who was trained by Gordon Ramsay and was Sir Paul McCartney’s personal chef for seven years.
Mr Findlay has also worked with everyone from Beyoncé to Elton John, Madonna and Pink.
Flave’s co-founders told shareholders in a letter last week that they had not been paid since January of last year and were racking up $10,000 in bills a month.
“We have been actively exploring multiple options, including closing Australian operations and engaging in discussions with potential international partners. However, their assessment, like ours, is that Flave is slightly ahead of current consumer habits,” they said, as reported by the Australian Financial Review.
‘In recent years, the plant-based food industry has experienced significant fluctuations. While there was initial enthusiasm and rapid growth in this sector, recent trends indicate a shift in consumer interest and behavior.
‘The bottom line is that there is simply no demand in Australia for a fully vegan, scalable, mass-market restaurant.’
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