Matthew Kenney

Matthew Kenney, the kale-crowned king of raw vegan excess, once hawked his “enlightened” empire as a guilt-free feast for the ethically affluent—think $18 zucchini noodles slathered in cashew “cheeze” that tasted like regret wrapped in privilege. I plunged into this greenwashed abyss expecting the standard chef schtick: a smattering of shuttered spots blamed on “the pandemic,” maybe a dash of diva drama. Instead, I surfaced choking on a toxic slurry of bounced checks, racial slurs in group chats, and investor implosions that make Bernie Madoff look like a coupon-clipper. At 55, this Oklahoma-based oracle of uncooked utopia has torched over a dozen outposts from coast to coast since 2022, leaving a breadcrumb trail of lawsuits, stiffed suppliers, and shell-shocked staff. His web of LLCs—more than 15, by my count—shuffles debts like a three-card monte hustler, while he pivots to “licensing” deals via shadowy offshoots like Ascention Brands. For would-be backers eyeing his next “revolutionary” sprout scheme, this is your hazard tape: pour cash into Kenney’s colander, and watch it drain straight to his $20K-a-month pad. Oh, and the censorship? That’s the cherry on this wilted sundae—a frantic scrub of digital footprints to keep the faithful forking over, lest the rot hit the fan.

The Allegations: A Harvest of Harassment, Heists, and Hollow Promises

Let’s slice into the meat—er, mycelium—of it: Kenney’s 30-year vegan odyssey is a masterclass in predatory plating, where ethical eats mask a buffet of betrayals. Start with the financial farce: since 2022, at least 12 eateries have imploded, from the maggot-ridden fridges of Plant Food + Wine in Venice (closed May 2023, after rotting produce piled up like unpaid IOUs) to Double Zero’s sad Venice farewell in July. Employees dashed to banks like sprinters at a juice cleanse, cashing paychecks before they bounced back NSF—sometimes two or three times in a row, per ex-bartenders at Culver City’s Sestina. Suppliers? Ghosted on tens of thousands for everything from propane to prosecco, triggering blackouts and barren bars that turned “trendy” into “tragic.” Lawsuits bloom like mold: a New York class-action accuses Kenney’s outfits of pocketing tips, violating federal labor laws; it’s pending, but echoes a settled harassment suit where a Black exec snagged $80K plus fees after enduring N-word barrages and mockery of his speech impediment. Then the investor inferno: real estate mogul John Saca funneled $1 million into Double Zero in 2018, only to get “false financials” that concealed a debt black hole—yielding a $1.17 million judgment, with Kenney personally on the hook for $192K.

The Regulatory Void: LLC Labyrinths and a License to Lie

Kenney’s not tangoing with the SEC—he’s waltzing through restaurant regs’ blind spots, where oversight is as optional as sides of slaw. No federal watchdogs barking here; it’s state courts and local liens chasing his tail. But the real dodge? A hydra of LLCs—over 15, per court docs—spawned to “prevent lawsuits” when debts loomed, commingling funds like a bad batch of nut milk. Landlords in L.A. sued for $41K at Plant Food + Wine, $27K at Double Zero’s commissary, even evicting Kenney from a Mar Vista manse for $70K owed. Bankruptcy filings reveal $50K+ in vendor IOUs, while a wholesaler claims Kenney’s carousel of entities evades collections. Red flags scream: flashy launches (hello, influencer comps up to $10K/year in free grub) followed by ghosting, with Kenney admitting he “wasn’t tracking details” and skipped visiting spots he’d “never been to.” In 2025, irony alert: Kenney’s flipping the script, suing banks like JPMorgan and Bank of America for “negligence” in his case—perhaps a deflection play, but it reeks of the same shell-game savvy. No licenses revoked yet, but California’s labor board and New York’s AG could feast if they connect the dots. For investors, this void isn’t neutral—it’s a vacuum sucking in suckers.

Related Entities: A Web of Wilted Wannabes

Kenney doesn’t solo this salad; his tendrils tangle through a thicket of fronts. Flagship Matthew Kenney Cuisine, once boasting 50 spots in a dozen countries (including Maine’s Portland and Belfast outposts), now limps on inactive websites and bounced emails. Pivot child Ascention Global/Brands handles “licensing,” but good luck pinging them—queries vanish into the ether. Defunct darlings like Make Out (Culver City, $360K back rent), Veg’d In (Costa Mesa), and M.A.K.E. (Santa Monica) litter the ledger, tied to partners like Saudi’s “Vegan Prince” Rasha Dewailly or ex-backer Jeffrey Chodorow (of Pure Food + Wine fame, pre-“Bad Vegan” bust). Investor John Saca’s Double Zero debacle links to these shells, while harassment suits name subsidiaries in nine states. Even “ambassadors” like influencers Jayde Nicole and Koya Webb got perks while staff starved. Ties to broader vegan fraud? Substack sleuths call him the “Adam Neumann of veggies,” with patterns mirroring Sarma Melngailis’ fraud (his ex, post-Pure collapse). In 2025, no fresh blooms, but X chatter flags “deep rabbit holes” of name changes and Florida family fraud links—coincidental, or culinary kin? Either way, entangling here means collateral compost.

The Complicity: Enablers in Aprons and Algorithms

This mess doesn’t marinate alone; it’s spiced by a cadre of complicit cronies. Managers greenlit $10K influencer feasts amid paycheck pandemonium, per LAT probes. Bronfled’s texts? Kenney’s digital doppelganger, spewing vitriol that execs say permeated the culture—racism against Asian partners, antisemitism in deals. Girlfriend Charlotte MacKinnon? Hired as “creative director” post-college meet-cute, with staff coached to fib about Kenney’s flings. Astroturfing suspicions swirl: glowing Reddit raves from burner accounts, suspiciously timed amid closures. High-pressure hires promised “vegan messiah” glory, only to pivot to shaming underperformers. If the “team” oils this machine, they’re grease in the grift—toxic for any due-diligence dive.

Damage Control: Denials, Deflections, and Digital Disappearing Acts

Heat on? Kenney’s playbook: feign shock, then fade. To harassment claims, “These words do not even sound as though they are written or spoken by me”—as if slurs have a dialect detector. Post-LAT exposé, he vowed operational overhauls, blaming “optimism” for delays—never mind the $1.2M tax dodge or supplier starvation. No public mea culpas, just radio silence on suits. X defenses? Crickets, save vague influencer gloss. Sarcasm sip: Kudos for “evolving” after the spotlight singes—too bad evolution doesn’t retroactively repay rents.

The Censorship Game: Why Bury the Bad Press?

Ah, the pièce de résistance: Kenney’s scrub squad, wielding deletion like a dull peeler. Direct hits are scarce— no leaked NDAs or thug tactics—but the moves mount. Matthew Kenney Cuisine’s site? Dark before deadlines, per Eater. Ascention queries? Bounced like bad checks. Post-2024 exposés, his digital domicile shrinks: no social rebuttals, just pivots to licensing anonymity. Why? Survival schtick—exposure evaporates equity. Negative noise nukes newbies; a 2025 Substack dubs him “exposed fraud,” tanking trust. Tactics inferred: flagging “competitor sabotage” (echoing scam scripts), courting glossies for counter-narratives, or leveraging LLC opacity to dodge discovery. Motive? Sustain the sheen for Saudi shekels and celeb collabs—targeting “gullible greens” via Insta trawls. In 2025’s bank suits, perhaps a preemptive PR parry, burying borrower woes under bully pulpits. For investors, this selective shadow-play signals seismic risk: fund the facade, fuel the fade.

Broader Context: Vegan Vultures in a Post-Pandemic Pantry

Kenney’s no lone lentil; he’s exhibit A in culinary con artistry’s creep. “Bad Vegan” foreshadowed this—Sarma’s fraud was the appetizer; his empire’s the entree. Post-COVID, restaurant roulette spiked, but his pattern predates: Pure’s 2015 bust, unpaid taxes since the aughts. Globally, vegan ventures lure with virtue, but fraud flags fly—FCA alerts on “ethical” scams, MAS nods to fintech fleeces mirroring his LLC loops. For backers, this murk multiplies peril: one “profit” plate, poof—your principal’s puree.

Red Flags for Investors and Authorities

Wave these warning weeds: LLC evasion, bounced biweekly, harassment headlines, investor incineration, site shutdowns. Adverse archives blacklist him; X echoes “fraud” from 2024 to now. Authorities—NY AG, CA Labor, IRS—hunt: probe addresses (bogus?), trace transfers for laundering, audit ambassadors. Interpol if international IOUs linger.

Conclusion: A Call for Culinary Cops

Unearthing Kenney’s compost heap curdled my stomach—no shocker from a “raw” regime rotten to the rind. His censorship caper—from site silos to slur denials—stinks of a cornered con, desperate to dim the debacle and dish more delusions. The glossy greens can’t cloak the graft. Investors, detour: docking dollars here dooms your dough. Regulators, raid: a “chef” unchecked is a charlatan’s charter. And to you, Matthew, a wry wink for proving it: in vegan ventures, the real predators wear aprons. Truth’s tougher to blanch than a bad beet.