Bakery Owner Sues Chef Over Missing Recipes

Update: The Chicago Tribune reported at 1:10 pm this afternoon that the owner of Fraiche Bakery Café has decided to dismiss the lawsuit filed against her former chef; at this point the terms of the settlement have not been revealed. 

It all started two weeks ago, when one of the chef's at Fraiche Bakery Café in Evanston, Ill., resigned, then returned to the bakery a few days later and subsequently stole two binders containing Fraiche's original recipes — including those of their widely acclaimed cinnamon bomb and chocolate toffee scone.

Fraiche's owner, Susan Davis Friedman filed a lawsuit against the chef yesterday, five days after she noticed the missing binders and received a threat from the chef claiming that the only way to get the recipes back would be through taking legal action.

Friedman and her attorney (who also happens to be her husband, Benson Friedman), stated in the suit filing that the recipes developed by the chefs employed at Fraiche are property of the bakery, and that the chef signed a nondisclosure agreement to ensure the protection of those recipes. 

Friedman remains confident that the bakery will be serving up fresh cinnamon bombs once again following a court hearing later this week.