Chef's claim for damages slashed by High Court

AN AMBITIOUS London chef who claimed his career had been destroyed by a motorbike crash was disappointed in his compensation claim last week when a High Court judge questioned his potential to join the elite band of London head chefs earning £50,000-£60,000 a year.

Keith Bundy of Leigh-on-Sea in Essex had been seeking more than £300,000 in damages from the driver of a car that collided with his motorbike in 1995 (Caterer, 27 May, page 6).

The accident had shattered his left thigh and left him with long-term disabilities that forced him to leave his job as senior sous chef at London's Royal Lancaster hotel.

But High Court judge Mrs Justice Hallett awarded Bundy just £63,475 damages, less than a rejected £80,000 pre-trial offer, and ordered him to pay the legal costs of the trial.

Describing Bundy's career dreams as unrealistic, she ruled: "I am not satisfied that before the accident, Mr Bundy had what it takes to work as a head chef at a large establishment in London." She said his current role cooking boardroom lunches for six to eight people was "a job and lifestyle that is more suitable than before".