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In this age of culinary Messiahs, we're rubes who need to be taught how to eat In this age of culinary Messiahs, we're rubes who need to be taught how to eat
(about 9 hours later)
How exceptional does food need to be to excuse it being served with a side of condescension? Just how much attitude is worth swallowing in pursuit of first-rate cuisine? Looking around at the state of dining in America, these are questions that I find myself weighing with increasing frequency.How exceptional does food need to be to excuse it being served with a side of condescension? Just how much attitude is worth swallowing in pursuit of first-rate cuisine? Looking around at the state of dining in America, these are questions that I find myself weighing with increasing frequency.
A year and a half ago, I met a young chef named Matt McCallister, who told me about the brave things he was doing with vegetables at his new Dallas restaurant, FT33. He was warm, solicitous, even a little shy.A year and a half ago, I met a young chef named Matt McCallister, who told me about the brave things he was doing with vegetables at his new Dallas restaurant, FT33. He was warm, solicitous, even a little shy.
McCallister had quite a ride since then: he was named one of Food & Wine's Best New Chefs in 2014 and Chef of the Year in 2013 by Eater Dallas, and FT33 earned a five-star review from the Dallas Morning News, the title of Restaurant of the Year from D Magazine, and a spot on Bon Appetit magazine's Top New Restaurants list.McCallister had quite a ride since then: he was named one of Food & Wine's Best New Chefs in 2014 and Chef of the Year in 2013 by Eater Dallas, and FT33 earned a five-star review from the Dallas Morning News, the title of Restaurant of the Year from D Magazine, and a spot on Bon Appetit magazine's Top New Restaurants list.
Evidently, he is now feeling his oats: in a prickly, condescending interview with the Dallas Observer earlier this week, McCallister had this to say about FT33's challenges in "educating" the Dallas eater:Evidently, he is now feeling his oats: in a prickly, condescending interview with the Dallas Observer earlier this week, McCallister had this to say about FT33's challenges in "educating" the Dallas eater:
We still get people coming in and asking for a wedge salad or whatever. And my response to that is always "get the fuck out of my restaurant".We still get people coming in and asking for a wedge salad or whatever. And my response to that is always "get the fuck out of my restaurant".
Maybe McCallister sees himself as sort of culinary Messiah figure, incarnated to teach Dallas's meat-munching rubes just what vegetables are and how to eat them. Maybe he thinks obstreperousness is a mark of serious talent. Or maybe this recent truculence is just something he picked up from John Tesar, who – in a different part of Dallas last week – fired off the same expletive at one of his diners.Maybe McCallister sees himself as sort of culinary Messiah figure, incarnated to teach Dallas's meat-munching rubes just what vegetables are and how to eat them. Maybe he thinks obstreperousness is a mark of serious talent. Or maybe this recent truculence is just something he picked up from John Tesar, who – in a different part of Dallas last week – fired off the same expletive at one of his diners.
Evidently unsatisfied by Dallas Morning News critic Leslie Brenner's (largely positive) review of his restaurant, Knife, Tesar took to Twitter to retaliate:Evidently unsatisfied by Dallas Morning News critic Leslie Brenner's (largely positive) review of his restaurant, Knife, Tesar took to Twitter to retaliate:
@lesbren fuck you ! Your reviews are misleading poorly written,self serving and you have destroyed the star system and you really suck@lesbren fuck you ! Your reviews are misleading poorly written,self serving and you have destroyed the star system and you really suck
Tesar's vitriol was directed at a critic rather than a member of the general public, but the takeaway remains the same: another chef, another petty despot unimpeachable in his tastes and deaf to all outside perspectives.Tesar's vitriol was directed at a critic rather than a member of the general public, but the takeaway remains the same: another chef, another petty despot unimpeachable in his tastes and deaf to all outside perspectives.
These aren't, however, isolated examples chefs behaving badly. They're evidence of a hospitality industry being slowly, but conspicuously, drained of its civility; of restaurants' inexorable transition from part of the service economy to part of the entertainment industry. Today's kitchens are increasingly unwilling to engage in any sort of dialogue at all with their guests, designating themselves as the final authorities on what diners should and should not want to eat. These aren't, however, isolated examples of chefs behaving badly. They're evidence of a hospitality industry being slowly, but conspicuously, drained of its civility; of restaurants' inexorable transition from part of the service economy to part of the entertainment industry. Today's kitchens are increasingly unwilling to engage in any sort of dialogue at all with their guests, designating themselves as the final authorities on what diners should and should not want to eat.
The power shift can at times be subtle: a dish presented with intricate instructions about how "the chef recommends it be eaten", for instance, which always makes me feel like a child being taught how to hold a fork. In other cases, diners have little choice but submit to the chef's will.The power shift can at times be subtle: a dish presented with intricate instructions about how "the chef recommends it be eaten", for instance, which always makes me feel like a child being taught how to hold a fork. In other cases, diners have little choice but submit to the chef's will.
Since chef Sang Yoon infamously declared that no modifications to the hamburgers he served at Father's Office in Los Angeles would be tolerated, more and more menus flatly announce the kitchen's refusal to compromise. At Animal (also in LA), chef/owner John Shook compared altering his dishes to asking Picasso to change the way he paints. New York's Café Grumpy won't serve espresso in takeout cups because "espresso is meant to be drunk fast". Diners brandishing cameras or notepads at Brooklyn Fare risk the ire of chef Cesar Ramirez.Since chef Sang Yoon infamously declared that no modifications to the hamburgers he served at Father's Office in Los Angeles would be tolerated, more and more menus flatly announce the kitchen's refusal to compromise. At Animal (also in LA), chef/owner John Shook compared altering his dishes to asking Picasso to change the way he paints. New York's Café Grumpy won't serve espresso in takeout cups because "espresso is meant to be drunk fast". Diners brandishing cameras or notepads at Brooklyn Fare risk the ire of chef Cesar Ramirez.
The message throughout is clear: you dine at the pleasure of the chef … and don't you forget it.The message throughout is clear: you dine at the pleasure of the chef … and don't you forget it.
McCallister and Tesar's recent outbursts, are beyond mere stubbornness – they are flat-out hostility. Chefs like these – and there are plenty – are on a trigger fuse, barely tolerating we dupes despoiling their dining rooms. McCallister and Tesar’s recent outbursts move beyond mere stubbornness to flat-out hostility. Chefs like these – and there are plenty – are on a trigger fuse, barely tolerating we dupes despoiling their dining rooms.
Such churlishness wasn't always considered to be a talented chef's due. When I worked for Tom Colicchio, he trained the staff at Craft that the restaurant was in the business of people pleasing, not promoting its own agenda; if a guest wanted to drink an Orange Crush and we didn't have it behind the bar, the server should get a couple bucks out of petty cash, go to a bodega, and buy one. Thomas Keller has said that if a diner at his Michelin three-star restaurant The French Laundry wants a bowl of cornflakes, it's his job to provide cornflakes. That lack of ego seems downright quaint in today's dining environment.Such churlishness wasn't always considered to be a talented chef's due. When I worked for Tom Colicchio, he trained the staff at Craft that the restaurant was in the business of people pleasing, not promoting its own agenda; if a guest wanted to drink an Orange Crush and we didn't have it behind the bar, the server should get a couple bucks out of petty cash, go to a bodega, and buy one. Thomas Keller has said that if a diner at his Michelin three-star restaurant The French Laundry wants a bowl of cornflakes, it's his job to provide cornflakes. That lack of ego seems downright quaint in today's dining environment.
Of course, every restaurant needn't comply with every diner's request every time. And just as restaurants have traditionally set dress codes, they're within their rights to enforce standards of behavior aimed at protecting the enjoyment of all their guests. John Tesar has the right to express dismay at a review that he believes was unfair, and Matt McCallister certainly shouldn't be expected to stock the ingredients needed to fill the odd wedge salad request – but neither man is justified in being a jerk about it.Of course, every restaurant needn't comply with every diner's request every time. And just as restaurants have traditionally set dress codes, they're within their rights to enforce standards of behavior aimed at protecting the enjoyment of all their guests. John Tesar has the right to express dismay at a review that he believes was unfair, and Matt McCallister certainly shouldn't be expected to stock the ingredients needed to fill the odd wedge salad request – but neither man is justified in being a jerk about it.
We eaters would do well to think a little longer and harder about where we send our dining dollars, and what role respect plays in a meal. I don't know about you, but as the sad sack holding the credit card, I could live without restaurants where it feels like the kitchen has a basic, underlying disdain for me and my preferences - five-star food be damned.We eaters would do well to think a little longer and harder about where we send our dining dollars, and what role respect plays in a meal. I don't know about you, but as the sad sack holding the credit card, I could live without restaurants where it feels like the kitchen has a basic, underlying disdain for me and my preferences - five-star food be damned.