A celebrity chef who counts President Obama as one of his biggest fans has been slapped with a lawsuit for allegedly stiffing a broker on his commission for a $3 million Harlem town house.
Red Rooster proprietor Marcus Samuelsson and his model/philanthropist wife, Maya, bought the four-bedroom, four-bath townhouse at 30 W. 120th Street for the full asking price in January 2013.
But Samuelsson — who has cooked a lavish state dinner and hosted fund-raisers for Obama — didn’t give a dime to broker Laurent Delly of The Delly Group, according to the Manhattan civil suit.
Delly says he was the “substantial procuring cause of the property’s sale to the Samuelssons.”
He house-hunted with the couple for four months until they found the Mount Morris property.
Their new, 4,650-square-foot pad, previously owned by hoops great Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, is a quick jaunt from the chef’s Lenox Avenue hot spot, which serves pricey soul food. Red Rooster draws boldface names like Cindy Crawford, Ralph Lauren and Bill Clinton.
The broker was introduced to the Samuelssons through a mutual friend.
“He said he loved the place. It was what he was looking for. He wanted to live in this historical district only,” Delly recalled of his conversation with his famous client after showing him the townhouse.
“I was promised I would get commission — no worries,” he told The Post. “I wasn’t treated fairly.”
Delly adds in his suit that the seller’s broker received a 6 percent commission. He is suing for his half, or about $75,000.
Fred Daniels, Samuelsson’s attorney, said, “The claim against Marcus Samuelsson has no legal basis and lacks any true validity.”
Laurent said he no longer patronizes Red Rooster. “I would take my clients there. I support the businesses in the area.” But that changed after he was stiffed on the hefty commission. “I don’t go to his restaurant anymore because he didn’t treat me with respect. I’m a businessman and I worked hard to make a buck so I deserve to be paid just like any citizen. Delly griped that “it is a year now, and I haven’t gotten paid, and that’s wrong. That is a slap in my face.
“Who is Marcus Samuelsson for me to work for him free? You’ve got to be kidding me!”