Southern Florida pastry chef poised for big break
By Pankaj Ladhar of Manos • Alwine P.L.
A pastry chef who once worked at The Ritz-Carlton Coconut Grove will soon appear on the Food Network reality show “Sweet Genius.” On the show, he will try to win challenges and take home the ultimate $10,000 top prize.
The chef, Max Santiago, now works at Valentino’s in Ft. Lauderdale.
It is not unreasonable to expect that this appearance will probably bring Santiago a lot of visibility and perhaps further offers, either for new positions elsewhere in the country or perhaps entertainment-related opportunities, maybe even his own show, book, etc.
In situations like that, it’s likely someone in Santiago’s position would not quite know how to proceed. Entertainment is an industry very unlike most other industries, so when people start talking about publicity rights, trademarks, endorsements, licensing and the like, a great many people find themselves lost at sea.
It’s crucial that any entertainer on the brink of success develop a working relationship of legal concepts that are closely related to the entertainment industry. Certainly, you can have an attorney represent you, but you need to be informed so that your work with the attorney is productive and fruitful.
If you’re interested in gathering more information about entertainment law, consider visiting our Entertainment Law page. Revisiting this blog would also not be a bad idea; we plan to use it as a platform for discussing relevant entertainment-law news and developments, so we want it to be a resource for you.
Source: The Miami Herald, “A ‘Sweet’ gig for pastry chef,” Nov. 7, 2012