Clouds with Silver Linings

In ‘Charlie Wilson’s War’ the character played by Phillip Seymour Hoffman tells a parable of a young Afghan boy who received a bicycle for his birthday. All the village gossiped that he was ‘such a lucky boy” but the old, wise man of the village just said “we shall see.’ A few years later when the boy was riding his bicycle outside the village he passed over a land mine and lost both his legs. All the villagers lamented, ‘wasn’t he unlucky’ but the wise man once again said, ‘we shall see.’ A number of years went by and war broke out in the countryside. All the older boys were dragged off to war, but the boy with no legs was spared. The villagers chorused ‘ he is a lucky boy’ and the wise man said…..

In today’s economy many people are feeling that this is an unlucky time to be looking for work. Will I find that first job? Will the job I have be here in six months? Will my business survive? Dreams are put on hold. Basic needs and realities play center stage. I can relate to this in a very personal way.

My own career search started during the recession of 1974. I had just returned from three years in the Peace Corps. I had a British University liberal arts degree and had taught English at a college in Bangkok. This exotic resume produced scant job offers in a struggling NY economy. I was miserable looking for a job, any job. My dream on leaving Bangkok was to find work in Paris or open a bistro in Maui (note: I had never worked in a restaurant save for three weeks in Bangkok when I helped out in my local Thai café to learn their recipes.) I needed money but I couldn’t even get a foot in a door. I finally had to resort to the one thing I really didn’t want….to go to work for my father’s trade school.

My father, John Cann had started Apex Technical School in 1961. Apex taught the heavy mechanical trades. Being the least mechanical person I know, working at the school never appealed to me but it was a paying job and there I was. My highest and best use was a receptionist. To my surprise I loved working at the school. I loved the students. The government defined them as an ‘at risk’ population, i.e. people who never finished high school and had a high probability of not becoming a tax payer. The students I met were young, enthusiastic, loved mechanics and wanted a job in the field. We were successful with most of them and in more ways than one. The students learned a viable skill but were also transformed into self confident individuals. For some it transformed not only their life but their family’s as well. What better work could one find?

At Apex I was promoted to become the Financial Aid Director. I took the job on with zeal and went to many workshops to understand the responsibilities. I became so involved that eventually I am became a part time ‘expert’ to the US Department of Education in how to disburse funds to vocational schools, I testified in Congress why our vocational students were entitled to Title IV funding, and I eventually was elected to the Board of Directors of the National Association of Trade and Technical Schools. It was during that tenure that I discovered a marvelous professional cooking school in Paris.

In 1980, I along with other educators were invited to visit the top vocational schools in Europe. I saw automotive schools in Germany, electrical schools in Holland, and a chef training school in Paris. Paris! Cooking! Chefs! I was in heaven. When we ate in the school restaurant I found it to be one of the best meals in my life. Why couldn’t we have a school like this in the States? We have great food products and if we have great teachers we could enjoy a meal as delicious as any in France. I was lucky to have an indulgent father who agreed with me. Apex now would start a culinary program.

The rest, as they say, is history. So I ask you, was the 1974 recession lucky or unlucky for me?

Been Here Before

The past few weeks for New York City restaurateurs have been a fearful ride. We have been reeling like our Wall Street counterparts one day thinking all is done for…another amazed at how crowded the restaurants were last night. Now the country, nay the world is with us on this roller coaster. I can’t predict what will happen in the financial markets tomorrow but I have my own thoughts on what we can expect in the restaurant world.

This is my fifth ‘recession’ in NYC, my second ‘cataclysmic’ one, 9/11 being the other. That September I remember Maguy LaCoze of Le Bernardin lamenting, “ I have worked all these years to have my restaurant evaporate like this, OVERNIGHT?” There was little restaurant activity in the weeks that followed. My own restaurant L’Ecole and The French Culinary Institute itself were closed for a full week as was the whole of Soho. We all suffered losses, some more than others. Some people did go under. Those who did, did so for various reasons: not having enough working capital or that they just did not have the stomachs to ride out the storm. The restaurants that were consistently hurt were the marginal operations that had not distinguished themselves from the pack. And herein lies the key to who will weather these challenging days.

I had the pleasure of interviewing Danny Meyer recently and I asked him what he thought of the impending recession on the restaurant world. In his ever upbeat manner, he said that he thought it was an excellent opportunity to attract the best and brightest staff. A huge ‘pruning’ will happen in the industry. In the heady years with lots of money sloshing around, many restaurants could open and make it without the professionalism of delivering a good product with good service at the right price.

Today the competition will be fierce for the entertainment dollar. Fewer people will dine out and less often. However, people will continue to eat. And dine. And celebrate birthdays, anniversaries and weddings. Life goes on and food is an integral part of living.

Which restaurants will survive? The best. Best means good quality, good service at fairly priced establishments. Two days after the 700 point Dow drop in late September we held a career fair at The French Culinary Institute. Over 45 restaurants showed up to recruit. David Chang himself was there! Bear Sterns and Lehman Brothers had already gone under, and I asked the restaurateurs why they were still hiring? The answers were pretty much the same…it’s hard to find good people, they were constantly scouting and in addition the restaurant industry has been understaffed for years!

In retrospect, I am amazed at how quickly the restaurant industry bounced back after each recession. Because of the pruning and the competition, the restaurant scene actually got better. Restaurateurs had to lure people back. It provoked innovation and creativity. For example, after the ’74 recession we found a new type of cuisine , a fresh and more relaxed American/Californian dining experience. We were stunned to see on West 17th Street! the architectural investment of the Parisian like brasserie of Johanna’s. After the early eighties recession we discovered a new sophisticated, American purebred restaurant exemplified by Union Square Café and the Soho chic of Odeon. The post internet bubble spawned the David Rockwell school of restaurant as theater and after 9/11 we hemorrhaged with a panorama of excesses from the classy fountain pens of Alain Ducasse to the 14 course ‘three bites’ of Per Se. Budgets for opening a restaurant could no longer rely on having your parents mortgage their homes. Real Estate developers built virtual palaces to have restaurants lure the zillion dollars per square foot clients to purchase their condominiums.

Now what? Well, if past is prologue there will be pruning, there will be months of handwringing and fear. But the best will only get better and we as the dining public are in store for new innovation to lure us back. Can’t wait to see who, where and when….there is a silver lining to every cloud, at least in the restaurant industry. Hope Wall Street fares as well.

An Evening to Remember

An Evening to Remember and Remember and Remember…..

Lucky me! Once again, I was able to participate in an event so special it would make Alain Ducasse envious. Last night, The Inn at Little Washington celebrated its 30th anniversary. Anyone who knows Patrick O'Connell (chef proprietor extraordinaire) would expect that this would NOT be another humdrum fabulous gala. Oh no, we expected elegance, sophistication, deliciousness, glamour and whimsy! Never to disappoint I must say, Mr. O'Connell delivered in spades.

Alas! The gemlike hamlet location of the Inn at Little Washington (nestled in the Ozark mountains of Little Washington, Virginia) couldn't handle the throng of wellwishers . No, we had to celebrate in Big Washington…D.C. No matter, Patrick brought the Inn with him. In true to form theatrics, a dozen renegade child ballet dancers from the "Nutcracker" , dressed as Prussian nineteenth century soldiers formed an honor guard as we entered the impressive Mellon Auditorium.

On the occasion of this special 30th anniversary, Chef O'Connell only fleetingly reflected on the momentous occasions of his extraordinary hotel. He deflected his achievements outward and chose to honor those people who inspired him in the past thirty years. He created a new category of legend…a roster of thirty "American Culinary Pioneers." To honor them, the Inn will now have rooms named after this illustrious group. Not all are still living but the fourteen that were present at the Gala embraced the spirit and the event was richly layered with a culinary who's who.

Patrick was in rare form and after a reception of Dom P. champagne, greeted his guests with declaring that the evening was a cross between an Irish wake and a Jewish wedding. With that he raised a shot a Jameson and wished everyone "Mazel Tov!" Like clockwork, the grand dinner began its procession of exquisite dishes.

One rubbed shoulders with Tim and Nina Zagat, stepped on Thomas Keller's toes, bumped into Gary Danko and stood back and admired Alice Waters in resplendent strawberry tulle (organic of course!) Sirio was there, as were Mimi Sheraton and Phyllis Richman. And then the charity auction began. Those generous chefs!!! Charlie Trotter and Daniel Boulud kept adding more goodies to the charity auction lots (Dean Fearing egging them on…..his newest home the Ritz Carlton spontaneously throwing in a week in one of their suites anywhere in the world) and all the chefs kept the charity auctioneers on their toes upping the ante to raise more than $100,000 for "Five and Alive," the charity of the evening.

Patrick in his humility and generosity turned this anniversary into an homage to our culinary heritage, a significant contribution to world poverty AND a resplendent party. The King of Hospitality knew exactly how to make his guests comfortable in celebrating. For in the end, a party is not really about the food and wine, it about who you are with and what you are doing. What an exciting night. Thank you Patrick!!!! Nothing less than what one would have expected from the 5 star, 5 diamond ultimate Zagat scored Inn. Congratulations to O'Connell and his world class staff. Once again you created a new standard of American hospitality.

Lunch with Judith Jones

Being the CEO of The International Culinary Center does have its perks! A few weeks ago I got one. I had lunch with the legendary Judith Jones, editor extraordinaire. She was everything I expected and more.

Actually, I first met Judith twenty years ago when Julia Child invited me to have lunch with the two of them. What I vaguely recollect is that the restaurant was somewhere near Bloomingdales on the Upper East Side and quite an unimpressive choice for such grande dames. I don’t recall what we ate. What I do remember clearly was the conversation.

These two were old friends and colleagues (already working together more than twenty years ). It was a Saturday lunch so it had a bit of a ‘day off’ feel. We sipped champagne and THEY gossiped. They were trading stories on bold face names as well as exotic people I never heard of. They were having fun. But the stories gave me pause. What I was listening to sounded so cut throat in places. Judith asked me at the lunch, “Do you find the New York food scene hard to break into, I mean, tough?’ Like a wide eyed deer in headlights I had to honestly answer no. What we realized is that I lived in the food world of chefs. Julia piped in immediately, “she’s lucky she works with the chefs….” And it is true, 99% of chefs are the most generous and supportive souls I have encountered in my life.

Now back to Judith Jones. The lunch was sparked by meeting her at Madrid Fusion a couple of years ago and she shared that she didn’t much care for all this new technology cooking. I shared my views which were more supportive. So, before we had lunch I thought I should take her on a tour of the school and I asked Chef Nils to have a little demonstration ready. He did and she was fascinated. Chef explained that the pursuit of technology was really to bring out the best flavors of food, to make techniques easier or more food friendly. He then put on a superb demonstration of cooking an egg in its shell by temperature, not timing. If one could keep an egg at one temperature the consistency would stay the same and thus could always be controlled. He demonstrated the technique on seven different eggs. It was simple but fascinating. From a technology point of view, if one could have a temperature controlled water bath you could make hundreds of poached eggs in advance and have them served quickly and perfectly every time. Hats off to this technology and Judith agreed.

After walking around our 76,000 square foot school, I finally let her have lunch. We shared a nice glass of wine and started to talk. I had recently read her memoir, The Tenth Muse:My Life in Food. (Brillat-Savarin, the famous gastronome (Larousse Gastronomique), called gasterea “the tenth muse”, following the other nine: poetry, history, music, dance, love poetry, tragedy, comedy, geometry, and astronomy.) I was fascinated when straight out of college, she went to Paris and carried letters of introduction to Sartre and Camus. She met Balthus. She had colorful employers who almost got her to spend some quality time in a French prison. She fell in love and had an extraordinary romance with the man who would become her husband, the equally famous, Evan Jones. There was so much life in her!

When I think that she edited the legendary giants in our field (Julia Child, Marcella Hazan, Madhur Jaffrey), lived such an exciting life, I was humbled to be sharing our meal at L’Ecole. Although she has been working for more than fifty years in editing, she spoke with great excitement about the new chefs around town. She shared with me what joy she takes in cooking for herself every night. This is a born and bred New Yorker who has lived in her apartment for decades and is not seduced by easy take outs or the siren song of the latest and greatest restaurants. I learned a lot from Judith in that luncheon, but most of all I learned to respect and enjoy a simple meal….preferably one cooked at home…with your favorite cookbook!

The Brooklyn Book Fair

Yesterday, I had the excitement of interviewing, a la Chef’s Story, Dan Barber and David Bouley. We were part of the Brooklyn Book Festival. It was a glorious day and the Festival had a great turn out.

As we sat on a stage in the open air in front of Borough Hall in downtown Brooklyn, about three hundred people gathered (with seats for only 70). David and Dan mesmerized them!

If one could pair two chefs from the Chef’s Story (CS) program, these were two of the most complementary. Dan had worked for David early in his career and was greatly influenced by him. It was flattering for David to hear those stories and it was fun for Dan to rib David on his eclectic style in the kitchen. The crowd felt they were eavesdropping on their conversation.

I sparked their dialogue with a question about their grandmothers. (Each had started their Chef’s Story show talking about their grandmothers.) Both grandmothers had ‘back to the land’ lifestyles albeit in a different way. Bouley’s grandmother was a French immigrant who replicated her country way of life in Rhode Island, not only exposing David to raising (and eating) rabbits at a tender age but also knowing what day boat fish tasted like.

Dan’s grandmother, on the other hand, was more a ‘gentlewoman’ farmer. He painted quite a dashing figure of her….she dated prime ministers and ambassadors. She was a world traveler but grounded herself on a farm in Massachusetts, the eponymous Blue Hill. She raised cattle and vegetables and Dan in his youth spent a lot of time with her. Both men were imbued with childhood tastes that they incessantly strive to emulate in their restaurants.

Dan in his CS program related a fun story about the first night working at Bouley. David had starting yelling across the kitchen that he had to, ‘talk to his fish.’ Dan had no idea what he was talking about. We asked David to explain.

Bouley in his soft but assertive voice explained that every fish, like every person is different. Not only is every fish different, but every cut from a fish is different. It is absolutely essential to be sensitive to the nuances. You have to feel how salt is going to react to that particular piece of fish. This ‘talking’ extends to all foods. You can’t just work as if you are on a conveyor belt. You have to look and respect each individual product.

The conversation at one turn, described how the kitchen at Bouley operated. Dan was quite eloquent about this. He said it was organized chaos. The audience laughed. David bowed his head and blushed. Then Dan went on to explain how this was part of David’s genius. At various times during service David would change a recipe. He would even change the menu. It kept the cooks on their toes, constantly. Dan talked about maintaining a fear in the kitchen, a healthy fear. It compared to an excitement of not knowing but having to be ready. If cooks get complacent, the food tastes bland. If the cook is alert, on edge, it reflects in the food.

Of course we talked about products, sustainability and the importance of respecting the environment. Both Bouley and Barber proselytized these virtues long before they became buzzwords. I asked where sustainability was going. Chefs, they believe, will not only be known for dazzling techniques, or tastes but for how they source their products.

Dan was quite animated speaking about the stories that go with a product. At Stone Barns, he is fortunate to have a true farm to table experience. He told the story of a 5th generation of garlic that a customer brought to him. It was handed down from the man’s Italian great, great, great grandfather. The bulb seeds came from a renowned town in Italy known for growing exceptional garlic. The man asked that Stone Barns take over the patrimony of the garlic. He felt too great a pressure to keep this sport of the bulb regenerating year to year. Stone Barns, of course, accepted the offer. The garlic, though, was only to be used in cloves, not whole. Thus in the restaurant it was served grilled and spread over toast. But it could not just be served. People would so appreciate to know the care with which this particular garlic was preserved. Thus the Blue Hill waitstaff had to learn the background and deliver the story. Customers left the restaurant feeling they had eaten the best garlic of their lives. Had they? It certainly was good, but the best? Did it matter? What mattered is they understood the caring of the growing, the generations of protection of heirloom products and how worthwhile it is to take the time and money and make sure these products are not lost. It is more than organic, it is more than sustainable. It involves an understanding and appreciation. That is the future for American chefs….and diners.

Thank you David! Thank you Dan!