Michelin's new director, Bauer's last review, over 200 talk 77, and more...

Family Meal - Tuesday, September 18th, 2018

Hello Tuesday,

Here’s hoping everyone in harm’s way this past week is doing as well as can be. Trees are still down and schools were closed today in Hong Kong, but with the exception of a few hard hit waterfront areas, things are slowly returning to normal for most people. Thanks much to everyone who reached out!

Bit of a slow (industry) news weekend. Let’s get to it…

The (Next) Michelin Man - “The Michelin Guide has named Gwendal Poullennec as its new International Director, taking over the reigns from Michael Ellis. Having joined the Michelin group in 2003, Poullennec, 38, has spent the last 12 years in charge of international deployment in the US and Asia. During his tenure he initiated guide launches in New York , San Francisco, Tokyo, Hong Kong, Kyoto, Bangkok and Taipei. In his new role he will manage the guide’s 32 editions, reporting directly to Pascal Couasnon, director of gastronomic and tourist activities for the Michelin Group.” Details via Vincent Wood in The Caterer. Press pic of the longtime Party Member holding the little red guide via Michelin Twitter here.

End of an Era – San Francisco Chronicle critic Michael Bauer turned in his final review last week, handing four stars to Michael Mina on his way out the door. He explains in a follow-up, farewell essay: “Michael Mina is an appropriate review to cap my 32-year career writing about food at The Chronicle. One of my early major restaurant reviews was the opening of Aqua in 1991, when George Morrone was chef and Michael Mina was chef de cuisine. The restaurant earned four stars, one of my first such ratings.”

Obviously, there are a lot of people happy to see the man go, and I’m still hoping someone will do a long, final write-up on the pros and cons of the Bauer era, but for now, Chronicle food writer Jonathan Kauffman has this media-side mini-tribute on Twitter: “As a former critic (I stopped in 2012, youngsters), I wanted to give credit to Michael for getting -- before anyone else, I'd argue -- the role of the restaurant critic online. Specifically, that readers interacted with a critic as a public figure. Online readers click most readily on topics they recognize: celebrity chefs, high-profile restaurants, brand names. Michael got that a restaurant critic should be that, too. That meant, for him, a lot of additional work blogging about his experiences and reviews, interacting with restaurant folks and readers, and convincing the powers to fund a multi-voice blog like Inside Scoop. (And being on Twitter early.) I had a very different approach to criticism, but I learned from Michael that this public role was good for my paper and for my job security. So, respect as he moves on to his next phase and I look forward to seeing how our next critic approaches this aspect of their job.”

The (Supplier) Profile Treatment – The go-to avocado guy in NYC, Miguel Gonzalez, gets his very own write-up from M. Tara Crowl in Eater this week: “In 2014, Gonzalez was ripening avocados in the basement of his apartment building and delivering them to clients in his wife Astrid’s VW Passat. But in the past three years, chefs and owners of more than 120 of New York’s top restaurants have become his clients. They include Michelin-starred restaurants like the Modern, the NoMad, Daniel, and Casa Enrique; more casual restaurants like Five Leaves and Llama Inn; and popular, fashionable cafes like the Butcher’s Daughter. Gonzalez now has two delivery trucks, a warehouse, and a staff of six.” Great read (and hot damn to Louise Palmberg’s pic of Gonzalez delivering to the Williamsburg Hotel!).

For TV Fans – The trailer for Chef’s Table Season 5 on Netflix is here.

For the Bar – If you need a man who can mix drinks in NOLA, Neat Pour says “legendary curmudgeon and bartender Paul Gustings” is newly available…

They got a witness (or 200) – In D.C., a broad industry coalition is attempting to overturn Initiative 77, the voter-approved referendum that does away with the tip credit. The public City Council hearing on the issue started yesterday at 11am and went till 3:15am this morning with over 200 people making statements. Not quite sure how it all ended, but WCP’s Laura Hayes was there the entire time and promises a full update at this link in the next few hours.

Tweet from the City Council of D.C. around 2:35 this morning: “Tonight’s lesson: Never play a game of testimony endurance ‘chicken’ with an industry with routine 2AM and 3AM closing times. #CheckPlease”

The Gift and the Curse – On the one hand, congrats to old school Manhattan red sauce spot Forlini’s for filling last call tables with a young, presumably spendy crowd of “beautiful people”. On the other hand, those people… “‘I’ve never heard of this restaurant before,’ Jordan Barrett [a surfer / model / Instagrammer] said. He had been there for the celebration at hand — the birthday party of a social-media influencer and creative consultant. ‘I am only here for Jenné Lombardo. This restaurant only matters because of Jenné Lombardo. This restaurant did not even exist before tonight.’ He stepped into an SUV with his crew and disappeared into the night.” Story by Alex Vadukul in the NYT.

Acting! – Per Andrea Chang in the LA Times, all the kitchen at José Andrés’s Somni in LA is a stage, so Somni hired an acting coach. “That explains why Somni’s chefs and line cooks, a dozen in all, could be found staggering around a small conference room on a February afternoon, a few weeks before the restaurant was scheduled to open. Some flapped imaginary wings, others walked with a limp, before reciting in exaggerated British accents: ‘Betty Botta bought a bit of bitter butter; a bit of bitter butter did Betty Botta buy.’… The point of the session was to help the chefs and cooks feel comfortable in front of an audience — because once Somni opened in March, they would be literally front and center, every night.”

For design fans – Here’s an Eater LA photo spread for Jessica Largey’s new Simone in Downtown LA. A lot going on there. I love that the same brass-backed chairs are used throughout, but sport different upholstery in different locations, and I’m sincerely hoping that the aged-looking, pastel patterned floor by the bar starts an ugly flooring trend. Least favorite element: The pendant lighting. Aren’t those just… slightly curved fluorescent tubes?

And last and least – Here’s that Interview article that’s been going around, with a naked Danny Bowien trading a fig leaf for a lobster, and Mr. Michael “M” Chow throwing out gems like: “Danny, you and I are 21st-century healers. I think that a restaurant is a work of art. Maybe it’s not the highest level of art—like painting, poetry, calligraphy, or music—but it can certainly be equal to architecture.” Certainly.

And that’s it for today. If I don’t see you in the back room at Forlini’s tonight, I’ll see you here Friday for next Family Meal.

And don’t forget to follow me on Twitter, and send tips and/or painting, poetry, calligraphy, or music - you know, the highest levels of art - to andrew@thisfamilymeal.com. If you like Family Meal and want to keep it going, please chip in here. If you got this as a forward, sign up for yourself! Most archives at thisfamilymeal.com for now.