Celebrity Chef's Wife In Court

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Marco Pierre White once co-owned Frankie's restaurant in Chiswick

The estranged wife of celebrity chef Marco Pierre White has been charged with vandalising his car with a child's scooter.

The celebrity chef was once a familiar face in Chiswick, as a business partner with jockey Frankie Dettori at Frankie's Italian Bar and Grill which closed some years ago.

Mati Conejero, 47, is accused of damaging the chef's Range Rover while it was parked outside his flat in West London. The incident is alleged to have happened in May.

Marco Pierre White

Conejero has pleaded not guilty to criminal damage and is due to appear before Isleworth Crown Court in October.

Mr White, 50, who has an estimated fortune of £25 million, met Conejero in 1992 and they married in 2000.

They began divorce proceedings in 2007, but halted them last year after running up legal bills totalling an estimated £3million.

Newspapers reported that Conejero lives in a flat above a pizza restaurant once owned by Mr White, in Chiswick.

Frankie's Italian Bar and Grill, which opened in 2005, was located on the site of the former Pug restaurant, adjacent to the Power House. It was replaced by Bardolino's when it closed. The premises is soon to be opened by Milanese-based chain Brick Oven.

Mr White resides in a £2.5million flat in Holland Park, West London according to newspaper reports.

Details of Conejero's court appearance have emerged less than three weeks after reports that Mr White was seen dining with actress Emilia Fox in Carluccio’s on Chiswick High Road.

August 24, 2012