LONG ISLAND KOSHER CATERER ACCUSED OF SERVING TREFE

FROM THE ORTHODOX PAPER: VIN

Melville, NY – Exclusive Kosher Caterer Accused Of Serving Non-Kosher Food
Published on: Today 01:22 PM
News Source: VIN News by Sandy Eller

Melville, NY – The chef and general manager of a large Long Island based kosher catering company have filed court papers charging the owner with serving non-kosher food at kosher affairs for the past sixteen months.

Long Island based newspaper Newsday is reporting that, General manager Tom Cataldo and Chef Michael Savitsky allege that Scott Morrell, CEO and owner of Morrell Caterers which bills itself as a luxury kosher catering firm, has been preparing, serving, storing and transporting kosher and non-kosher food in the same kitchen and with the same utensils.

The pair estimate that despite charging premium prices for kosher food, all food served by Morrell at approximately two hundred events during that time period was contaminated. According to reports on WCBS news, Morrell also billed his clients for high-end liquors while pouring lower priced liquor into the premium bottles. According to the company’s web site Morrell caters at Temple Israel in Lawrence, Temple Beth Torah in Melville and Woodbury Jewish Center in Woodbury.
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According to Cataldo and Savitsky, Morrell began catering non-kosher events when business slowed down and prepared food for those affairs, including pork and shellfish, in the same kitchens he used for his kosher catering. The two say filed the lawsuit after Morrell allegedly refused their requests not to prepare non-kosher food in the kosher kitchens.

“Everything was tainted,” said Cataldo. “Next to the kosher meat you would have a bucket of raw shrimp.”

It is unclear what type of kashrus supervision was employed by Morrell Caterers. Office staff at the facility’s main office told VIN News that that information was not readily available and owner Scott Morrell was unavailable for comment.

Morrell’s lawyer called the allegations fictitious and said that the pair were manipulated into bringing the lawsuit by a third party in retaliation for a bad investment he had made with Morrell. Morrell further alleged that the non-kosher catering was initiated by Savitsky and Cataldo.

State Supreme Court Justice Stephen Bucaria signed a temporary restraining order in Nassau County Supreme Court in Mineola on Tuesday, barring Morrell from disposing of any company property, including assets or records, until a decision is reached in the case.