By Becky Billingsley

Wednesday, Feb. 15, 2012, Conway - Judge Steven H. John was not amused on Feb. 15 that defendant Drew Manios was before him with an accusation of violating a restraining order that prohibited the restaurateur from using Chef Andreann Geise's name or image in connection with his Myrtle Beach restaurant, Mykonos.

Andreann Geise was the executive chef at Mykonos, a Greek/Italian restaurant at 1002 29th Ave. N. in Myrtle Beach operated by brothers Drew and Chris Manios, who formerly had Club Kyptonite in Myrtle Beach. The restaurant opened on Dec. 31, 2010, but Geise, who previously owned a restaurant and has won several national recipe contests including "Ultimate Recipe Showdown" hosted  by Guy Fieri on the Food Network, says she was never paid her earned wages.

She left the restaurant in April 2011, and on May 13 Geise's attorney, N. David DuRant of Surfside Beach, served papers naming George Andrew Manios, Christopher Louis Manios, James Tommie Callihan, James Anthony Griffith, Kelly Nightengale, Jason Bosserman and Manihan, LLC D/B/A Mykonos letting them know Geise was suing for her wages and damage to her name, and a cease and desist order was included instructing them to stop using her name, photo and recipes. She is claiming more than $40,000 in actual non-paid wages.

Geise said after the cease and desist order went into effect, she found evidence her name was still being associated with Mykonos in advertisements, menus and on the restaurant's Web site.

On Sept. 6, the defendants were served with a restraining order that says "There is evidence that the defendants have been using both written and published materials to promote the restaurant known as Mykonos which contain the Plaintiff's name and likeness," and that "Since the Plaintiff is no longer employed by the Defendants in this matter and there is a pending lawsuit, it is not appropriate for Defendants to continue to promote the restaurant known as Mykonos by using Plaintiff's name and likeness."

But still Geise saw her name and image being used in connection with Mykonos. One instance was on a huge banner that as of this morning was still hanging at the Cal Ripken Experience ball field. In other cases, carry-out menus referring to Geise as the restaurant's chef and were delivered to area businesses, and Mykonos radio advertising was being aired that mentioned Geise.

"We have thousands and thousands and thousands of marketing items all over Horry County," said Russell B. Long, the defendants' attorney. "The banner was purchased in the spring of 2011. My client can't be expected to remember where everything is. Even though Your Honor didn't say for us to take those down, we will. We believe [Geise and her attorney] are abusing the process. This is silly. It's like a bad breakup...It's nitpicky, and it's vindictive."

Judge John inquired about the radio advertisement using Geise' name that aired after the Sept. 6 restraining order was in effect, and Long responded that the ad was "...bought and paid for before" Sept. 6.

"Let me be clear if I wasn't before," Judge John said. "I understood and found it to be a practical impossibility for the defendants to go to every kiosk from Little River to Georgetown [to collect materials with reference to Chef Geise]. But my intent was, if it's sitting out there on Sept. 6, you're not required to go get it. I did not expect anything new - paid for or not - would appear on the radio waves or air waves. I'm not requiring the defendant to go find [materials that were already distributed], but that's the only exception. There can't be anything at that restaurant with her name or likeness on it. You can't mention her. To your restaurant, Ms. Geise does not exist. If anything appeared after Sept. 6, your client has to go find it and get rid of them. Anything that didn't exist on Sept. 6 cannot be used."

Judge John said he would not find the defendants in contempt of court, but added, "...I don't want to hear about this again. If this comes back before me, somebody's going to jail, and I mean J. Reuben Long."

The lawsuit involving Geise' claim for unpaid wages is not yet on the docket. Her attorney said it would likely receive a court date in the fall of 2012.

Geise is eager to put her relationship with Mykonos behind her. She returned to Myrtle Beach on Feb. 11 after spending several days in New York City where she was filmed for Season 2 of "The Perfect 3," which airs on the Cooking Channel. The chef's Quiche recipe earned her finalist status, plus a trip to New York City for the filming.

Chef Geise could not comment about whether her Quiche won the competition, but said the filming "went well," and the show's producers and staff treated her in a "nice positive way." The episode(s) in which she appears will air sometime between the end of April and the end of May.

Geise is also pitching her own cooking show to Scripps Networks Interactive, which produces programs for the Food Network and the Cooking Channel. The chef said her show would have a Greek culinary emphasis, but she could also draw in her experience as a veterinarian to enhance viewers' knowledge of how their food is processed.

In the photo above, Chef Geise is shown on the set of "The Perfect 3" with show host Kelsey Nixon and her finalist-worthy Quiche.