Angry Chef Trashes Rock Star's Ferrari Enzo
Jamiroquai frontman Jay Kay's $1.4 million Ferrari Enzo (above) was trashed by an enraged chef at a seaside resort where the rock star had gone for a little R&R earlier this week. Kay had driven the supercar to the 3-star Brudenell Hotel on England's Suffolk Coast and was staying there when his over-the-top attitude angered the hotel's chef, Aaron Billington, the UK AutoTrader reports. Apparently it was Billington's night off, and he and others were socializing with Kay in the hotel's bar. After several rounds of drinks it seems Kay made some derogatory remarks - according to one report he ridiculed the others' lesser vehicles, bragging about the Enzo parked outside - angering Billington.
The chef was later seen throwing rocks at the Enzo, shattering the windscreen and smashing the driver's side window. The damage was estimated at £30,000 or about $42,000. Billington later told the local court he committed the crime in a "moment of madness" after becoming upset by Kay's "offensive" remarks. Asked to comment, Kay, 39, remarked, "It's disappointing. It says something about the British psyche." Kay, who appears on the hit British TV show Top Gear, has an amazing collection of supercars among which the beautiful black Enzo is his prized possession. His fleet includes a Ferrari F40, Ferrari F50, a Rolls-Royce Phantom and a selection of classic cars including a Lamborghini Miura, Mercedes-Benz 300SL roadster and an Aston Martin DB5.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
C.S. Mar 4th 2009 7:56PM
I kinda liked Jay Kay when all he did was hang around New York getting stoned to the gills with models and cutting the occasional dance track. I had no idea he was such an unrepentant a-hole.
Not that I doubt that the chef is also an a-hole. After all, he's an award-winning English chef.
All in all, this is a nice, comical example of what happens when a-holes collide.
BLUESDOG Mar 5th 2009 8:59PM
you've summed it up beautifully
jemteku Mar 5th 2009 9:04PM
I could not agree with you more. Loved the "when a-holes collide" line. He must have really offended the guy, but I despise people who take revenge on a car, even an old junker. Just so stupid.
Limeyoutside Mar 6th 2009 4:05AM
OK, the view from an English guy on Your turf....Jay Kay is reviled in the UK - he is below average height and thus compliments his midgtery with bluster and attitude (as in the relationship between cars and penis extensions) for starters. He hasn't made either a decent or memorable record in a decade, and even when he did, the inane publicity that he engaged himself in to support it earned him the soubriquet "The Twat in the Hat"!
Some folk collect stamps, baseball cards and are to a man or woman, completely inocuous......ponce around like Captain Flash in a low rent eaterie, and there is a fair chance that You will upset the regulars, whoever they be!
I am not a big fan of malicious damage, but set Yourself up for a fall like that, and I guarantee You a crap day! I understand the chef is quite good though!
C.S. Mar 4th 2009 9:19PM
Whoops! Sorry, I didn't get at first that Billington is not actually the revered chef of the Bru -- that would be Justin Kett. Billington While it would not surprise me that Chef Kett is also an a-hole (being, as I said, an award-winning English chef) I would not presume to pass that judgment based on this information.
Billington, however, is clearly on his way to a Michelin starred career, as the guide quite often mistakes angry a-holery for genius.
jjabrams Mar 5th 2009 9:02AM
Why on earth would you throw rocks at an enzo?
If you were to do something at least ram it with your own car. That way at least you can claim it on insurance ;)
C.S. Mar 5th 2009 11:55AM
An excellent point, J.J., and one that I am sure Mr. Billington will file away for his future drunken sprees against faded mid-90s pop stars. On the other hand, Mr. Billington was apprehended. So as it stands, he doesn't run the risk of a letter informing him that he's been dropped by the company, or that his rates are going to go through the roof (although, not knowing UK insurance law, I'm just guessing, really).
jjabrams Mar 12th 2009 12:15PM
Why on earth would you throw rocks at an enzo?
If you really wanted to do something, why not ram it with your own car - at least you could claim it on insurance.
susan Mar 5th 2009 8:59PM
Men and their expensive,fast, sleek sporty cars. One has to wonder if they are overcompensating for something else..LOL
Dan Mar 5th 2009 9:07PM
He made that much money from that crap music??? Amazing!!!
Tor Mar 5th 2009 9:20PM
Oh those rash BILLINGTONs.
I suspect that the temper is in the Billington genes!
One of my distant ancestors, named John Billington, traveled to Plymouth on the Mayflower in 1620, also had an historical temper.
He got so bothered by a neighbor, a newcomer, ironically named John Newcomen, that he shot and killed him in a dispute in 1630.
My John Billington was arrested, charged, and found guilty by the Pilgrims. He was the FIRST settler hung for murder in the New England Colonies . . .
Fortunately for me, his son Francis lived a full life; and now, there is a family saying that, "There is nothing quite like a well hung Billington."
As the Billington temper runs in the genes, I still have to be careful!
Portia Dumont Mar 5th 2009 9:37PM
This story must be false. There is absolutely no such thing as a British Chef. They have no cuisine only a bar.
Larry Mar 5th 2009 10:04PM
Amazing! This is the first time I have ever enjoyed reading intelligent comments that actually stick to the subject! I'm not sure if that's a good thing, or not. I wish people who comment on so many other much more important things could do the same.
Asshole Mar 5th 2009 10:14PM
That poor Enzo, no car like that deserves to be trashed.
bouncertank Mar 5th 2009 10:33PM
As a former chef and current bouncer, I'm all too familiar with tempers flairing. I agree, don't trash the car!! Duct Tape Jay's little ass up and stuff him into the tiny trunk of the Enzo. Ah.... good times
uhlerrobertj Mar 5th 2009 11:01PM
Looks like Darth Vader reincarnated as a go-kart. The lines on Ferraris pretty much went to hell with the Dino. The Barchetta and Maranello are exceptions.
comisar99 Mar 6th 2009 12:06AM
hahahahah your right!!!
Wayne Mar 5th 2009 11:30PM
That is one butt ugly car...I'll take my 58 New Yorker over that POS anyday...I can see why he trashed it!!
sasky45 Mar 5th 2009 11:44PM
Kay's comment about the British pysche is right... I guess he forgot that the English are enthusiastic soccer fans, and, sometimes that enthusiasm spills into other areas... like getting even with folks who insult them!
Bratprincess4evr Mar 6th 2009 12:02AM
Oh whatever major losers....