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chefg

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Everything posted by chefg

  1. I had indeed read the posts about my "rumored" departure from Trio, and I apoligize for taking so long to address the members of this board. It was important to us however to inform the staff of Trio and other appropriate individuals personnally before announcing the creation of Alinea. The parting of myself and Henry is a mutual one, each of us supporting the others goals. Trio will carry on, and given Henry's track record of successful business and talent picking, the fourth generation of Trio will be another amazing transition, just as the three previous. I suggest we keep the two topics of Aliena and Trio sepreate if possible. There are already too many threads running on this news in this forum, I feel condensing them to two would make for a more efficient read. Alinea...the name.. About two years ago the kitchen team and myself were brainstorming on a logo or symbol that we could use to express the characteristics of our cuisine. A few days after that meeting a chef brought me a piece of paper that he printed off the net. It was the Alinea symbol with a definition. I was immediately drawn to it. Not only for it's direct meaning......and the parallel to the different style of cuisine that we were producing at the time, the symbol itself with such history linked to alchemy, the asthetics of the lines, but I also felt like it perfectly captured the emotional state of a chef as they underwent the process of creating a new restaurant. I tucked the piece of paper away for two years....knowing I would use it eventually. The creative team... The staff of Alinea will constist of many dedcated passionate individuals...many of which I have not even met yet...however, I am currently working with a group of amazing people. From Trio.. pastry chef Curtis Duffy and sous chef John Peters have commited to positions at Alinea. They will also be part of the test kitchen/menu development process that wil happen during the iterim period. We will have a regimented outline designed during this period to create new techniques and produce mature dishes for the opening. They will also play a large role in the delvelopment of the kitchen design, which I believe will prove to be very different than the norm..at least in this country. They will both hold sous chef titles at Alinea. Joe Catterson will assume the role of GM/ Wine Director. I was very excited that Joe agreed to join the team. He will also contibute a great deal to the design of the restaurant and will undoubtably craft a wine/service experience at the hightest level. I imagine the restaurant to employ nearly 40 people, obviously I have only mentioned a few above, and I am excited to bring every member of the team aboard. We suspect the launch of the website to be in two weeks. I will post the link when it is available. At that time you wil be able to see the other members of the creative team's work. It is truely is a network of 12-14 people and growing whom really understand the philosophy, vision, goals, and standard. It is my intention to keep up to the best of my ability with this thread. We are also entertaining the thought of documenting the development of Alinea after August 15th on our website. Both in the physical changes to the building as far as design, and the results of the test kitchen and dish development. Maybe we can work something out with egullet to help organize this in a productive way. I welcome questions but bear in mind I will not be able to answer promply or at all...but I will do my best. Grant.
  2. Dinner at Moto on Tuesday night...brillant.......This is going to be fun.
  3. If anyone can do it.... the man can do it. How does "the changing of the guard" at the Times effect these restaurants' success?
  4. Chiacgo has been privy to this cuisine for over two years. It is called Trio and it is in Evanston. Seems like alot of influence on Motos menu came from Chef Achatz. Just a thought. Klinger: How are you? OK, I feel the need to comment on this now while it is still in it's early stages. I have said this before, when people commit to work outside of the box they unintentionally enter a smaller box. I assure you Moto's cuisine is as original as Trio, as the Fat Duck, as Veyrat, as Gagnaire and so on. So chef Cantu has attached rosemary to silverware, does the intentional olfactory sensation become a link to Trio's lobster with rosemary vapor. NO. When something is new it is scrutinized, analyzed, and deconstructed. People will find the common demoninators where they want. They will try to imobilize the movement. They will corrupt the style to the point where they disable themselves from enjoying a wonderful meal because they overthink it. Please, go to Moto, come to Trio, these are restaurants that are taking risks, introducing a style of cuisine new to this country. We should all be happy that Chicago is now leading the country in culinary innovation.
  5. They are telling us it will be on tonight at 8:00 PM, Saturday 2:00 PM, 11:00 PM on Sunday. Channel 11.
  6. What is this website? I was hoping someone could give a side by side comparison, maybe someone who has been to both events.
  7. Can anyone tell me about the GSR Culinary Congress "BCN Vanguardia-Encuentros de cocinas contemporaneas" included in the Alimentaria 2004 congress about food and beverages ?To be held in Barcelona in March. Does it compare to Madrid Fusion?
  8. We have been fortunate to have very little turnover in the two and half years I been at Trio. Three of my original hires are still on board. Only two people have left short of one year, which is rare in the world of 16+ hour days.
  9. We employ 10 in the kitchen including myself. This number is usaully bumped by 5 due to stages, and externs which are unpaid. Of course a great deal of preparation is required throughout the day but all dishes are cooked, finished and plated ala minute.
  10. My people are telling me that Trio will be on soon.....not sure what that means.
  11. Isn't it? The chef de cuisine has been there for well over 7 years. 7 years! It is his job to know the man better than the man himself, and believe me, Thomas Keller makes sure everyone does their job. When I was a chef de partie there, this would have been in '97, a well known food writer came into the kitchen after a meal. As he and Chef had a conversation we all tuned in as we cleaned. This was before TFL even had a Sous Chef. During the dialog it came up the Chef was to be away for a period of time. The writer looked at chef and asked.."who is going to cook while you are gone?" Chef looked at him seriously and said..."the same people that cook when I am here." To a group of young chefs, that would bleed for the man, it was a powerful statement. It made all of us descretely smile while we scrubbed the flat-tops. Bouchon Vegas opens in a few months.
  12. Second that, go to Roxanne's, in my opinion the most forward thinking restaurant in the country...????? How creative do you have to be when you can't "cook" anything?! Pretty creative.FYI I may know some people at TFL.......
  13. Let's face it Chef Adria has defined a movement. How huge is that! And more to my struggle, how do his predecessors establish themselves within the parameters of the given movement without being labeled a plagiarist. Let me tell a story... Commonly I have been accussed of copying Chef Adria. Recently, with the second airing of INTO THE FIRE the stream has been steady, one person going as far as citing dishes in the el Bulli cookbook that bare similarity to those served at Trio. Two of which I found interesting ...a dish called "olor a Bosque" and philopizza. I have not had the opportunity to view the book yet. Actually intentionally, as I thought it would be intrusive to the development of my own style. But now with the thought that this dish may be very similar to Trio's evergreen vapor concept I wish I would have done my homework to avoid this possible overlap. (If anyone can tell me what this dish about I would appreciated it) Which brings me to a point relavent within discussion on AG cuisine but not necessarily this thread is ........ When people commit to creating outside the box, they unintentionally enter a smaller box. As far as Avant garde food in this country.... I think Trio is the strongest representitive. Let's put it this way,...it is our goal. If we are not producing AG food then we are failing. I believe WD-50 will evolve wholeheatedly into this category with time, if the public allows it. (watch for Moto restaurant..seemingly emerging as an embassador in the movement) As far as I can tell, and I certainly may be wrong, these are the only two restaurants in the country that are willing to commit to the risks inherent to this style of food.
  14. I agree...make it 12? 14 ?
  15. Hopefully, I will find time to post on this thread tommarrow. Maybe we can document the process right here on the gullet!
  16. docsconz: You need a job? I think you would fit in well here.
  17. This will be one of the most thought provoking meals served, for those willing to open their minds.
  18. I feel the kitchen table at Trio and Trotter's is what a kitchen table should be. You are in plain view of the team at work. The sights, sounds, smells and emotion are in your face. I don't understand "kitchen tables" that are removed from the kitchen, parted by glass walls or even worse, in the dinning room. (I guess that's called a "chef's table" in most cases.) Isn't the idea to feel the pulse of the kitchen. To smell when a cook burned something, to hear the chef yell at the food runner for tilting a plate, to feel the heat radiating off the flat tops, to become one innidated with pressure. I am mixed about kitchen tables. I have had some great experiences with guests in the kitchen. It gives us the opportunity to watch the excitement and satisfaction of diners, something we rarely get to experience as cooks. It brings us into the dinning room as much as it brings the guests into the kitchen.( Most commentary generally comes second hand from service.) It allows us to get to know the people, the people who support us on a regular basis. Two of Trio's best customers came from ice breaking kitchen table experiences. They dine at the restaurant nearly once a month and are, in my opinion, the biggest vip's we have. Not because I respect their food knowledge (which is emense) not because they dine at Trio every 6 weeks, but because of the relationship founded by tangible communication at the kitchen table. They have become friends of the restaurant. On the other hand, kitchen tables can be disastarous. We have had our share of disrespectful diners in the kitchen. At the table because it was the cool thing to do. These people are loud, rude and inconsiderate. To me that is the ultimate insult. I spend more time in Trio's kitchen than I do anywhere else. You are in my home. Be respectful. From the diner's perspective it is a two fold experinence. It is certainly a different experince than the dinning room. At Trio some of the service is handled by the kitchen staff, admittedly we do not have the grace at the table as a trained captian. But we can give you intimate details or a personalization of the food that the service may lack. The contact with the chefs' is there, which is why most people dine at the table. Personally, if I had a choice, I would not have a kitchen table in my kitchen. I feel the only people in my kitchen should be my staff. There are things that an average person will not understand in the professional kitchen setting. I am not talking about the grunge you read about in kitchen confidential. I am talking about peoples' romantic perception of being a chef and the jarring reality. So maybe I am talking about kitchen confidential???
  19. chefg

    wd-50

    I had an outstanding meal at WD-50 on August 13th. It was refreshing to dine on stimulating food.
  20. I was happy with the show as I felt it portrayed Trio in a very true light. It is interesting for me to hear people's reactions to the show. Me being critical the food looked "ok" at best, and considering they shot in April, alot of the dishes have been replaced or improved. But overall the response has been tremendous and I appreciate all the kind words and support. And the "left handed saute pan" thing gets funnier everytime I watch it. That was 100% real by the way.
  21. M- Hey, glad to see you are doing this! Obviously your focus and successes have been orbiting aroung the restaurant industry and food. Do you consider yourself a writer exculsive to that subject? Do you feel you could be successful at other types of writing? Did you consciously choose this focus? And what non-industry subjects interest you? And finally, what do I have to do to get you to Trio for dinner already! Best, G.
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