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Chris Botticella
Chris Botticella was a vice president in charge of operations in California working for Bimbo Bakeries USA, the company that owns the Thomas' brand english muffins. He had been working for Hostess for six months before leaving Bimbo. Bimbo, fearing he might give Hostess the secret to the english muffins' trademarked "nooks and crannies," successfuly barred him from going over to Hostess.
Thomas' "nooks and crannies"
One of Thomas's most closely guarded secrets is their english muffin recipe. Thier marketed "nooks and crannies" were what sepparated these english muffins from others. The "nooks and crannies" were air pockets, designed to cook the english muffin more thorougly, and to hold the melted butter. Different employees knew different parts of the recipe, but only seven employees knew the entire recipe. Chris Botticella knew the whole recipe. When Bimbo learned he'd been working for Hostess six months prior to his leaving, which he'd been pretending was a retirement, they feared he was giving away corporate secrets, including the english muffin recipe. While Hostess didn't produce english muffins, Bimbo Industries feared they might produce a similar product. They decided to bring him to court in 2010.
Botticella in the Courts
Bimbo Industries tried to bar Chris Botticella from working at Hostess, on the grounds he was acting as a corporate spy, in February. They believed he would give away their secret recipe. They also claimed he downloaded a dozen company files on a flash drive, though he denied this, saying he was practicing computer skills for his new job. However, the judge who barred him in February, R. Barclay Surrick, stated his manner was an indication of harmful intent. In the end, he was successfuly barred from crossing over to Hostess. In July, an appeals panel in Pennsylvania upheld the ordrer. One of his lawyers, Elizabeth Ainslie, is quoted as saying,"It's a horrible position he finds himself in."
References
edithttp://www.nydailynews.com/money/2010/06/15/2010-06-15_recipe_for_a_lawsuit_as_muffin_guy_tied_to_rival.html
http://www.lehighvalleylive.com/breaking-news/index.ssf/2010/06/english_muffin-maker_guards_no.html
[[Category:Thomas English Muffins