Jay-Z recently promoted Mike Shand, his personal chef, to run the kitchen at the flagship Manhattan 40/40 Club. The club is undergoing a $10 million renovation with the help of designer Jeffrey Beers; according to TMZ, Jay-Z felt that Shand would be the best-equipped executive chef to ensure the food is up to the rapper's standards.
Jay-Z's rep told TMZ, "[Jay] knew that Mike would be able to improve upon the current menu in ways that had the Jay-Z seal of approval because many are dishes that he eats himself on a daily basis." The Manhattan 40/40 Club is set to reopen in September.
The well-heeled hip-hop mogul is infamous for his picky palate. In 2004, the Mirror ran a piece on Jay-Z's dedicated chicken-wing chef, who was asked to take over the kitchen at Nobu London to prepare a meal for the rapper that didn't include raw fish. The article also outlined how the chef must keep 100 wings on hand per night for Jay-Z and his entourage, and that those wings must come from a single favorite family-run farm in Mexico.
Image Sources:
