Wednesday, June 17, 2009

Ready Steady Crook: Fake Chef Faces Jail


A bogus celebrity chef who claimed to have flushed Jamie Oliver’s head down the toilet as a kitchen prank is facing jail after admitting a string of gastro-pub frauds.

Kenny Goldsmith faked his credentials by claiming to have worked with some of the cheffing industry’s biggest names.

And he appeared on UKTV Food after boasting of working with Oliver, Gordon Ramsay and Ken Hom, taking viewers through his "simple but tasty" meal of beef brochettes served with mustard garlic cream.

But he had actually honed his knife skills – not at the foot of the Greats, but in a prison kitchen. And he had never worked with Ramsay and Hom or won a Michelin star. Or for that matter helped train Oliver – or , sadly, bogwashed the Naked Chef star as a "prank".

Oliver and Ramsay were asked to give statements to police during the fraud inquiry - and confirmed they had never met him.

A UKTV spokeswoman said the channel was now washing its hands of the chef following his appearance on Great Food Live.

“As part of that appearance, his recipe was uploaded on to uktvfood.co.uk. We will now remove the recipe from the website (they have),” she said.

His lies were finally exposed after he left a trail of bounced cheques and bad debts, cheating unsuspecting gastropub owners out of a total of £120,000.
At one pub, the St Vincent Arms in Norton Disney, Lincs, he even ran up a £4,000 bill for a helicopter trip to a food festival in London.

He is now behind bars, facing a lengthy jail-term after appearing before Lincoln Crown Court to admit a string of fraud charges.

Goldsmith, 39, cooked up an elaborate story of how his love of fine dining developed at an early age.

It was the usual sleb chef rites-of-passage-guff that the punters lap up. According to his website, his journey was inspired by his grandmother and the "traditional, homely food" she served.

"She was well travelled and had an in-depth knowledge of international cuisine. She shared her passion for good food with Kenny,” it gushed.

"She encouraged him to learn and cook alongside her, and her enthusiasm created a longing that ultimately led him to a career as a chef.”

He also boasted of having been crowned Seafood Chef of the Year in 2000 and said he was the holder of a Michelin star and ran the European Cooking School, based at a French chateau.

In reality, however, he ran a dating agency in Grimsby, Lincs, with his partner Kirsty Emmans.

Goldsmith, from Winterton, near Scunthorpe, admitted 20 charges of fraud and two of theft. Emmans, 38, of Grimsby, admitted 11 fraud charges and one of theft.

Jamie Oliver was unavailable for comment on Goldsmith's claims of having trained him, and his outlandish boast that he’d once flushed his head down a toilet during a bout of horseplay.

He and Emmans will be sentenced later.

...Blimey, a chef with a worse reputation than Gordon Ramsay. But my favourite bit of all is the blurb for Goldsmith’s European Cooking School...

“Can you imagine what it is like to stay in a French Château which is an authentic Fourteenth century castle complete with moat, working drawbridge, arrow-slits and battlements? Can you imagine what it would be like to extend your cooking skills under the tutelage of a top British chef?”

The plug comes with a grinning mugshot of Kenny, his arms crammed full of delicious peppers and garlic presumably foraged from a nearby 14th century market, and is accompanied by his recipe for orange sorbet. Rather appropriate now he’s in the icebox.

25 comments:

Lulu said...

Just shows anyone ca be acelebrity chef these days, and no-one checks, especially UKTV Food, but they get anyone on anyway

Kate said...

His recipe for beef kebab things (arhived for posterity here, by the way) certainly generates a lot of washing-up ... a further example of his job creation endeavours, perhaps?

Alex Watts said...

Dear Lulu,

I should point out in fairness to UKTV Food that although it may look the contrary, judging by the immense expense lavished on their programmes, they don't just let anyone on (God knows I've tried). But yes, I take your point.

Lennie

Alex Watts said...

Ah Kate,

You found what I failed to find, good all cached pages. Yes, it does look a bit of a pig's ear of a recipe, doesn't it. I've always been suspicious of cooks who use pepper strips in their recipes (no idea why).

Couldn't find his recipe for porridge though - maybe he hasn't written it yet.

All the best

Lennie

Anonymous said...

I blame the people who let him have access to there money, gullible isnt the world, fools more like, but if youve got the balls go for it, well done chef !

Anonymous said...

The press print any old crap, i know this chef, he did know jamie oliver and cooked with him in Birmingham at the Good Food Show, i should know as i was doing the security that day and saw them in Jamie's Camper Van

From what i know he did have a cooking school and several high paid jobs within the industry

Like another of your comments shows no one checks anything and i take my hat off to him for showing these people for what they are. I just hope he managed to stick the money away somewhere for a rainy day

Anonymous said...

Kenny is a loveable rougue, I should know, as I was one of 4 Travel companies he worked 'briefly' for, during his 2 1/2 month foray in the Alps. While amusing and entertaining, let's not forget that there is still a live warrant for his arrest in France for having stolen a 4x4 from a vehicle leasing company as part of his many expliots which still remain unaccounted for.

Anonymous said...

This story is a classic. Well done to this guy for turning these people over. Hes no different to any serving MP he just did it another way.

No companies check any creditials anymore and let this be a lesson to there greed as well as his.

Also the TV is to blame, They plaster our screens with The Real Hustle and they think people arent going to copy them, fools

As for the Warrant he has outstanding in France, Fuck em they never helped us in the war, frog *******s

Anonymous said...

I know this guy he's done about two years on remand anyway so he will be out in six months as they have to take that off your sentence.

Playstations in the cells, film rentals, food everyday, gym, easy life

Anonymous said...

I saw most of the household names at the Birmingham Hiton all smoking spliffs, snorting coke in the bogs,

There all as bad as each other

Anonymous said...

I used to know this guy years ago, he was always in the middle of some dodgy scam back then, does not surprise me that he is caught up in this, he is a very convincing storyteller!

Anonymous said...

Bit like Lennie Nash then?

Anonymous said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Ken Goldsmith said...

from Ken Goldsmith currently in Lincoln Prison : Im very happy with the sentence handed out, i only have six months left to serve due to the remand system.

Anonymous said...

I have known both ken and Kristy and they are not chefs, they are not hotel people, and maybe now ken will be able to lose a bit of weight if hes behind bars, but Ken who will apply your st tropez tan now! Glad Kristys kids were taken from her, maybe now they will have a chance at a good life.

Anonymous said...

As far as "blaming people that far him their money" goes... I didn't give him my money... I workedfor him and he paid me 2000 pounds in a dodgy cheque that bounced as soon as I got to England... Which left me in a foreign country with nothing.. As an employee o the European cooking school, I am glad he got his just deserts.. I had to end my overseas working holiday due to this experience.. And it looks to me like many other people endured alot worse, so if you haven't experienced his work first hand I say keep your opinions to yourself...... It's very easy to commet on things you have no experience of isn't it!

Anonymous said...

Go to hell Kenny!!

goldsmith kenny said...

thanks guys for all the comments,since being imprisoned jamie and gordon have retracted there statements,and i have several interviews to hold in april when i am released,i have a book being released in april,as i cannot be seen to be making money while staying in on of HM luxury apartments by the sea,i work outside the jail as a chef full time,and prison life is better than working for large companies,
i have sacks full of mail to reply back to , and would like to thank people for there support.

regards

kenny x

Foxy said...

Well done Cous, you hang in there.
Full respect.

Will said...

Top chef, top chap. You can't con an honest man (or woman). He took money that was readily handed over by the greedy and soon he'll be out. He's got a fantastic tale to tell and I suggest you read it if you wish to opine on these message boards.

Anonymous said...

Just one thing Mr Goldsmith, leave your grandmother out of your fantasies.She could"nt stand you.Be very careful what you say.

Anonymous said...

Well kenny do you remember me! I have followed your exloits for quit some time now, since our last meeting in 2004. I found you in scotland. Wacth back Mr Goldsmith I know where you are.

Anonymous said...

kenny i hope your going to pay me for the mattress when you come out! its odd that a story i told kenny about flushing my nephews head jamie down the toilet , he makes people to believe that he`s done it to jamie oliver .
The shed though is great , thankyou kenny , the food was ok too , me and the local vicar had all the food and drink that kenny left at the st vincent yum yum ...

Anonymous said...

Kristy Emmans is now living a glam life as a prostitute in Bolton

Anonymous said...

In about 2001/2001 Kenny worked as a head chef at a small private hospital, he got caught out there in quick time, but conned one of the woman working there into selling up and investing her money in him!!!