Chrissy Teigen Joins Chain as Strategic Investor and Advisor (Exclusive)

Chrissy Teigen is joining Chain, the concept restaurant and food company founded by actor B.J. Novak and Michelin-starred chef Tim Hollingsworth, The Hollywood Reporter has exclusively learned.

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The model-turned-cookbook author and entrepreneur will be joining the company as a strategic investor and advisor as Chain expands ChainFEST (the company’s gourmet chain food festival), creates food programming and builds new IP, according to a release.

“There’s simply no event like a Chain event, and Lord knows I’ve been to a lot of parties and consumed my fair share of fast food. To join a company that commands the intersection of fast food culture and pop culture, that has a literal Michelin-starred chef at the helm, is an actual dream,” Teigen said in a release.

“I love how fast Chain is growing, and I’m excited to help turbo-charge that growth,” she added.

Teigen has published two cookbooks — Cravings: Recipes for All of the Food You Want to Eat and Cravings: Hungry for More . The entrepreneur also sells cookware, baking mixes and even bathrobes under her Cravings brand . She’s also known for posting food content on her social media pages.

The newly named investor and advisor will be curating restaurant partners for the company’s upcoming ChainFEST tour. The company plans to announce dates, cities and partners for 2024 tour on August 6.

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“Chain events have become a place to celebrate our shared love and nostalgia for these historic brands we partner with. Chrissy came to our Wagyu Beef Crunchwrap Supreme collab with Taco Bell in the early days of Chain, and we quickly realized how much she shared our vision for what Chain could be,” Hollingsworth said in a statement.

“It’s nice to have another partner who equally appreciates a Beurre Monte poached lobster and Panda’s Orange Chicken just as much as I do, so I’m thrilled to welcome her into the fold,” he added.

Novak first shared an idea he had for a chain-themed restaurant on a podcast episode in 2018. In March 2021, with the COVID-19 pandemic forcing many restaurants into outdoor dining, Novak and Hollingsworth launched the first Chain pop-up in West Hollywood. The first drop, the Bustin’ Onion, was a play on Outback Steakhouse’s famous Bloomin’ Onion.

Since the first WeHo pop-up, Chain has grown exponentially with additions such as Chain House (a Los Angeles location where the company hosts pop-ups ), ChainFEST (which launched in December 2023) and the recently released special Chain Food: All-Star Dishes on Roku, on which Teigen was featured.

Luke Dillon of 3Arts and Meghan Mackenzie of WME led negotiation of material deal terms, and Lily Tillers of Delshaw and Michael Littman of Littman Rooks served as Tiegen’s legal counsel.

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