Top chef and manager of 3 Michelin-star Chicago restaurant are accused of stealing Wagyu beef, wine and $10,000 of truffles

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A top chef and a manager have been accused of stealing Wagyu beef and $10,000 worth of truffles from a now-shut down Michelin-star restaurant and using them for private events.

Owner of Grace in Chicago, Michael Olszewski, is suing his former chef Curtis Duffy and general manager Michael Muser for making extra cash on the side from the restaurant's stock.

Muser was sacked by his former boss and Duffy quit as a result. 

Olszewski claims he has proof his chef worked functions in New York, Hong Kong,Florida and California 'using food purchased with Grace's accounts and shipped to various locations without consent or approval.'

Former chef Curtis Duffy (left) and general manager Michael Muser (right) are being sued

Owner of Grace in Chicago, Michael Olszewski (left), is suing Duffy (right) and Muser for making extra cash on the side from the restaurant's stock

The Chicago Sun Times reported the restaurant ordered far more Wagyu beef, which retails at hundreds of dollars a pound, than it was selling last year. 

According to documents, the meat was sent across the country under the restaurant's name and as far as Asia.   

Olszewski said: 'I discovered that $10,000 worth of truffles and a significant amount of produce was missing from Grace's inventory. A portion of Grace's wine inventory and Wagyu beef was also unaccounted for.'

The owner also said the pair had been taking leave from work without permission which was becoming a 'chronic issue'. 

Owner of Grace in Chicago (pictured), Michael Oszlewski, is suing his former chef Curtis Duffy and general manager Michael Muser for making extra cash on the side from the restaurant's stock

Details have emerged during a bitter legal dispute between the three. 

Grace was one of only two establishments in Chicago with three Michelin stars but stopped operating in December after Duffy and Muser's departures.  

Back in 2012, the pair signed contracts with Oszlewski which banned them from opening a new restaurant in the Chicago area for 18 months should they leave Grace.