When you dine at Jean Georges at Columbus Circle, do you expect Jean-Georges Vongerichten to be expediting the dishes? When’s the last time somebody saw Nobu Matsuhisa behind the sushi bar at Tribeca? How do you know when you dine at Craft, Tom Colicchio is not in Brooklyn filming Top Chef? With the growing popularity of food-based programming, foodies around the world has embraced the concept of “Celebrity Chef”. We don’t just say Del Posto, we say “Batali’s restaurant”. Morimoto? the Iron Chef’s restaurant. With such high demand, these chefs are going along for the ride, each establishing one restaurant after another.
Celebrity Chefs are masters at their craft, and we as foodies pay homage to their wizardry. Yet can you think of another industry that does this? Ask yourself…
- Will you pay concert prices to listen to Beyonce’s protege cover her tunes?
- Will you line up for days to hear Philip Schiller deliver an Apple keynote?
- Will a big-league pitcher visit Dr. Andrew’s assistant for an opinion?
- Will you follow Tiger Wood’s protege around an 18 hole course if he had Tiger’s swing?
The answers to the above questions are most likely no. Yet for food, most don’t care. Even though the prices at some establishments are outrageous.
Are we simply viewing these brand name restaurants as a “taste guarantees”? Well I can say based on personal experience, it doesn’t mean much. Morimoto was in NYC when I went, the food was decent, but not exciting. He wasn’t in his Philly restaurant when I went, and it was exceptional. My mother saw Gordon Ramsay at his NY restaurant, but wasn’t blown away. Word on the street is he returned only because they didn’t get a coveted star the first time around.
So I thought: When we go to Celebrity Chef restaurants, we aren’t going because they are some of the best culinary minds, we are going because they are exceptional managers!
When you operate a group of 5-10 restaurants baring your name, you ought to hire the best you can find. Problem is, the best tend to want to make a name for yourself. How to attract, and retain talent, is a managerial skill. Case and point, Nobu and his development of Masaharu Morimoto.
Maintaining good PR, refining the state of your “celebrity”, making the right appearances on the right shows. This can be attributed to Time Management.
Opening restaurants at the right location, at the right time, creating the right price point. All signs of management talent.
So here’s my brief take on the current state of the Celebrity Chef scene:
- Spread too thin for their own talent
Todd English – People are starting to forget his celebrity
Mario Batali – Dropping out of Iron Chef, probably not too smart
Cat Cora – eh….. where’s her restaurant?
Wolfgang Puck – Seriously….. canned soups? - Mainstays, in cruise control
Nobu Matsuhisa – His restaurants are surprisingly consistent, but now that Nobu’s in Bahamas and Dubai?
Jean-Georges Vongerichten – Showing remarkable staying power, even with Japanese and Asian fares
Tom Colicchio – Top Chef’s a solid meal ticket
Bobby Flay – His TV shows are quantity over quality, but food is good and hearty - Exceptional Job, as far as I’m concerned
Eric Ripert – Philanthropy, and focus on Le Bernadin
Masa Takayama – Charges $350, but always there.
Gordon Ramsay – Takes charge of his restaurants, all star worthy.
And finally, no I don’t believe Rachel Ray, Guy Fieri et al. are real chefs. Chefs cook, and when something’s fat and disgusting, they say it, not swallow and smile.
CS
[...] Paul wrote an interesting post today onHere’s a quick excerptThis can be attributed to Time Management. Opening restaurants at the right location, at the right time, creating the right price point. All signs of management talent. So here’s my brief take on the current state of the Celebrity Chef … [...]