A chef who describes himself as a “born, bread and buttered Otago local” has threatened legal action against a string of eateries – often within days of starting work.

The man, who goes by the name Artemis Indigo Davis, has a criminal record from Christchurch under the name Benjamin Thomas Tapper-Norris, and has been given at least $10,000 from several Dunedin businesses over the past fortnight alone to settle his alleged personal grievances.