docsconz

Just to reiterate: If you have an interest in Paul's work, the question of cuisine as art or craft, or the business of haute cuisine, we invite you to discuss the issues and concepts that have been presented in the interview in the previous four posts. Paul is a member of the eGullet Society, posting under the member name "veda." Time permitting, he may post on this topic with responses to comments and questions before then, but coming this Friday, from 9 am EDT to 1 pm EDT (GMT - 4), we in the eGullet Society have a unique opportunity to engage in a real-time "live chat" with Paul on subjects relating to his career, his cuisine and culinary thoughts in general. We hope and expect that with your help the discussion that ensues will prove provocative, stimulating and satisfying.

<img src="http://forums.egullet.org/uploads/1159749404/gallery_8158_3671_8710.jpg" hspace="8" width="320" align="left">John: I hear you. Left me shift gears a little bit. Your most recent work was at Gilt. What were you doing at Gilt that either made you happy or unhappy in terms of the expression of your culinary art? Paul: I was happy -- very happy -- with the food. I really felt we hit a very good balance. The quality and execution of the product itself was at a very, very high level. More and more these days, finding a good team of guys that are dedicated and have the skill, want to learn and are willing to go that extra effort, is hard to do. It is hard to find and keep people with you. I take my hat off to the entire team of Gilt. They managed to produce outstanding quality of food. What I was maybe not so happy with was possibly some of the decisions made on how the food was put across to the guests. People come into restaurants with preconceived ideas. Sometimes they are expecting something more or sometimes something less. The way you deliver that before they even walk in the door is very very important and maybe the way in which the cuisine was put forth to some of the guests was not a true representation of the product itself. It goes back to a situation like when somebody reads something somewhere about something else and forms an opinion around it. Some people read a film review and form an opinion on the film rather than going to see the film itself. Some of those people who did not go in to see the film might actually really enjoy that film if they did not have a preconceived notion of it. I am not one of those people obviously. I will go and try things and I will go and see for myself. I was a little perturbed by some of the ways in which the presentation of the restaurant was handled with Gilt, because I really think what we were doing, just on the food point of view, was really, really good quality. It was really very, very high level of cuisine. Everything was executed beautifully, It was flavorsome. It was not strange or weird in any way. In fact, I really took what I was doing and made it much more approachable than I think people were expecting. Maybe, again the way the restaurant was put forward, it didn’t come across like that. So there are people that were doing this, that and the other thing, but actually it is not so much the substance, more the style. It is difficult to do unless you have full control of how it is done. I mean, you look at the best guys in the world and they have a very firm grip on how they present themselves to the general public. Ferran Adria of El Bulli is very smart. He demystifies the whole idea and really breaks it down to a very understandable notion of what El Bulli is, what the food is and how he goes about producing the food. I was one of those people before I went there that, I obviously know everything about the guy but I haven’t been, so we will see. I went there. It was life changing. It is not just the food at El Bulli. Where it is, the whole experience is just incredible. It really opened by mind and it really just made me think. I don’t want to be close-minded. I really want people to come and experience the product that I do. What is Paul Liebrandt about? What does he do, rather than read about him in a magazine and make their minds up. I just wish people were a little bit more open minded in that respect. John: What lessons have you learned from your experiences at Gilt? Paul: The value of proper planning, the value of being true to yourself and what you do and represent to your customers, and the value of the team, because without the team that I had in the kitchen at Gilt, I couldn’t have produced what we did there. It sounds common sense, but really it is about that. Those things are very important and I guess you know them, but you really appreciate them more when you are no longer in the situation. John: Is there anything else you would like to add about your experience at Gilt? Paul: It was very eye-opening. I learned a lot about working in that kind of environment. John: That kind of environment being . . . ? Paul: The hotel in New York City. The unionized hotel in New York City. It was a very big, eye-opening experience for me. Most chefs don’t ever deal with that side of it. I am fortunate that I have an independent restaurant background, but I also think it is good to be very well-rounded as a chef and as a business person in many different aspects of this business. The work in that environment was new for me. I saw one side of the business which I hadn’t seen before. John: Where to next? What are your thoughts, your plans? Paul: The next move that I am looking at right now is opening my signature restaurant here in New York City, and making the first steps on going alone and building the brand of Paul Liebrandt. John: How do you anticipate doing that? Are there specific plans in the works? Paul: I have been speaking to many different people. In the past couple of weeks that is all it has been. I have people that I know, ex-customers of Gilt, who had expressed interest in the possibility of investing. So right now I am talking to various groups of people and I am looking to talk to more people about investing in a signature restaurant of my own. John: So we are not to expect anything in the next month or two? Paul: Well, I am going to be doing some consulting and bits and pieces. I am going to be helping with Spain's Ten, you know the big happening at the FCI. John: Yeah, oh man! Paul: Yes, I have met up with Paco Roncero, the chef de cuisine of the La Terraza del Casino, Ferran Adria’s place in Madrid, so I am really looking forward to that. Obviously, the Star Chefs Congress that was just on, so I am keeping very busy doing lots of different things. Obviously the end goal is, I am not going to open my restaurant in the next month, but I am laying the ground work for that. John: Obviously to do something like that and do it right, it takes some time and this is something that happened fairly suddenly, is that not correct? Paul: Absolutely, yes it did. John: So there were not any plans already in the works? Paul: No, not really, no. John: Is there anything else that you would like to add to this discussion at this point? Paul: I would like to say there has been a lot of things said and written about myself -- good and bad -- thus far in my career. I would say that at the end of the day, those people that know me, those people that have had a chance to meet me, talk to me, they know what I am about. I have a reputation of being very difficult, maybe a bit of an enfant terrible, maybe a little quirky -- but I am not, really. I am a very down to earth, very decent guy to work for. I would just like people to get the real me. Obviously I read stuff on Gilt on eGullet and there is a lot of conjecture and a lot of rumor so I would really like to put it down exactly as it is. The same thing that Grant (Achatz) did when he was building Alinea. He did the whole opening process, you really got to know him, the man and what he is all about. It is very important for chefs to get that across I think. John: I agree. I think that is a good thing. One impression that I have of you and your work, and the people around you, is that you have inspired an amazing amount of loyalty in the people who have worked with you and the fans of your cooking. I think that is pretty impressive and one of the things that really makes me very excited in looking forward to experiencing your cuisine. Not yet having had a full meal of yours, I look forward to that with great anticipation. Paul: Great, I look forward to cooking for you. John: I can’t wait. I wish you all the best and a quick and successful venture. Paul: Thank you very much.

John: What would you say the risks are of that approach to cooking? Obviously there are risks. Paul: Well of course there are risks. I mean at the end of the day it is food, and people want to eat it and they want to nourish themselves. Food is very subjective. There are people that like what you do and there are others that don’t like what you do. But it is a risk that is worth taking. The way I cook is an expression of myself, it is an expression of the way I like to eat. I am similar to what you had just mentioned just now. I look for something which is well presented, it looks interesting, it tastes interesting. It makes me wonder about the food and engages me and it makes me think about what I am eating. Obviously it has to be delicious. Not everybody wants that and there is an inherent risk that when you cook in a creative manner, what I think is interesting, someone else might not and vice versa. So think of a situation where I do something which I think is great. I hit it. It is going to be great. Somebody could just sit there at the table, and it happens to every chef, eat the dish and just look at me and say, "I don’t get it, I don’t even like this," and rather than cooking something which is more broad-based where you are not going to really offend anybody and then again, I don’t think you are really going to excite anybody either, you know. John: Right. Paul: You do a traditional brasserie or something and, you know, steak frites, and we all love it, but it is still just steak frites. John: In the book that they gave out at the congress, they asked every chef who was participating a few questions including who has been his or her most influential mentor. You listed Pierre Gagnaire. I have eaten at Pierre Gagnaire in Paris once and the risks that he took with his food the night I was there did not work for me on that particular night. I could see the skill, I could see the artistry in what he did, but that particular night, the emphasis was on "bitter." I happened to be there with my wife and my then 14-year-old son. This was after him not going to El Bulli while his older brother did, etc. It just wasn’t the right meal at the right time. I think if I would have had that meal at a different time, it might have worked splendidly for me. People respond differently to the same thing at different times and under different circumstances. Context is so important. One of the most important things in terms of the perception of a meal, is what the diner himself brings to the meal in terms of mood, financial circumstances or other elements that may affect the particular diner’s receptivity to what the chef is trying to do at that particular time. Is there any way for a chef to deal with that? I think I may be asking the impossible there, but, is it even possible to anticipate that and deal with it other than just doing the best that you can and realizing that you are not going to please everyone 100% of the time. Paul: Well, you hit the nail on the head. No, you can’t please everybody 100% of the time. Everybody is different and like I said, what I might think is great, someone else might not. It is a very tough question to ask. I mean, the only way is to know that person, know their likes and dislikes and then build a meal around them and hope that you hit on all the things that they like and they walk away, you know, blown away. I don’t think there is any answer to that to say this is how you do it. If there were answers, I would be a billionaire by now.

<img src="http://forums.egullet.org/uploads/1159239349/gallery_8158_3649_131725.jpg" hspace="8" align="left" width="320">John: Let me ask you to flesh one of your comments out a little bit. You mentioned that food -- cuisine -- is an art that engages the five senses, all the senses. Well, certainly there is the sense of taste. The sense of smell, sight and touch are also pretty clear to me. Can you elaborate on the role of the sense of hearing in the cuisinier’s art? Paul: Okay, the sense of hearing. This whole discussion I am referring to what I do, the gastronomic side of food. You sit down and let’s say that you eat a macaroon, something as simple as that. There is that little slight crisp taste and touch and the sound of little crispy macaroon biscuit or the sound of, let’s say, pouring a glass of wine, the wine hitting a beautiful Bordeaux or Burgundy glass. The sound of champagne in the glass. These are things which most people don’t generally pick up. They take it for granted but really, really, I mean it is all these different things that make up a phenomenal dining experience. It isn't just good food, you know! John: I would imagine the ambiance in a restaurant includes the aural environment. Paul: I am talking of more than just the actual physical food, of course, but also the music level in the dining room -- even if there isn't music. Like if you go to France, most places don’t play music. The hushed tone or the noisy tone, the table next to you, the way the waiter glides across the dining room, does he make noise or does he not make noise? Hearing is a big part of it. It really makes a difference. You know, if you go to a fine dining restaurant and you have a hushed and very solemn dining room, it can be a little depressing at times. John: It can certainly affect one’s mood. Paul: Exactly, but then that affects the entire mood of the meal. That can put you in a mood of liking or not liking a meal regardless of the product, the food, the service and the wine. The sound of something could definitely change the way you feel about the experience. If it is too harsh or it is too noisy it might give you a headache. If it is a loud dining room where the acoustics are not very nice, these things can make a difference in the final outcome of a meal. So balancing all the five senses is very important. If you think about it, you do use all your senses when you eat in a dining environment like a restaurant. John: Right. I imagine even outside of a restaurant situation, even if one is sitting in a park and having a hot dog, the environment can make it more pleasurable or less so. Paul: Absolutely, yes. John: That makes sense. It wasn’t something that was obvious to me as with the other senses, but as you elaborate on it, it certainly does make sense that hearing comes into play. Paul: Well you know, when you cook, you cook with all of your senses. When you cook a piece of meat or a piece of fish, you listen to it. You don’t just look at it or just touch it. You also listen to it. When I cook a piece of meat, I am listening to hear if the water is coming out of the piece of meat and I am listening to the piece of skin on that fish, if there is water still left in it. You can tell by the pitch on something. Cooking is a real sensory experience. That follows through with the guest as well. That is just the way that I feel about it. I have always been very cerebral with that idea of how food should be. John: An example that comes to my mind -- again elaborating on the points that you are making -- just the other day at the International Chefs Congress, I had a chance to sample Davide Scabin’s "Cyberegg". It wasn’t the original “egg” itself but a Campari and Soda within that concept. A very important part of that experience was the actual pop in my mouth. The sound of the pop added a significant part to the pleasure of that dish. Paul: Of course. Absolutely. Actually think about it like this. If you were to, let’s say, eat a quenelle of ice cream, okay. Before you even go near the ice cream, someone says to you, “I am going to feed you a scoop of vanilla ice cream.” Automatically your brain tells you, okay, vanilla ice cream, I have a good idea of what it should taste like. It should be cold, it should have a silky texture to it and it should be very smooth. Imagine you eat that scoop of ice cream and when you go to press your tongue and to melt the ice cream, you get a crunchy sound. You would freak out. I think it still tastes like great vanilla ice cream but the sound would make a difference, wouldn’t it? John: It presents a challenge to one’s preconceptions. Paul: Exactly. So sound plays a huge part, a huge part. It is just that a lot of times we don’t really notice it that much but being aware of it, it can really heighten the experience of food. You know with the "Cyberegg", you are right. It is the pop in the mouth, if it be that idea of being like an egg cracking. It is a fascinating thing. I had a real pleasure a couple of months ago to go to the CIA in California for a big flavor conference. It had all the leading neuro and behavioral and social scientists. They had the R&D director from The Fat Duck, my friend, Chris Young. Harold McGee was there. The whole idea was about flavor and the perceptions of flavor -- this very thing that we are talking about here. It is really quite fascinating to hear from that point of view how human beings react. It is exactly what we are talking about, the sound of something popping which you don’t expect to pop. It is really a fascinating subject that is for another conversation, but I could go on for hours about it. John: I agree with you. That is a fascinating subject and one that I really enjoy too. In order for me to consider food good, it is a given that it has to taste good, but what elevates great food from good food is not only that it taste good, it is also presented in such a way that holds my visual interest, it smells good and contains elements within that are creative, that make me think, that make me go beyond just stuffing fuel into my mouth. Paul: Of course. John: That is what I look for in a great meal and when all those cylinders hit, wow! Paul: You get something which is beyond food then. It transcends just eating. John: Absolutely. Paul: You get an experience which touches you. I mean, food conjures up memories, it conjures up things and feelings and emotions that sometimes we even forget about. I remember one time at Atlas we were doing a dish with foie gras, a very nice lady came in, she was eating with her husband, and in the middle of the meal, she started crying at the table, absolutely sobbing and I was very upset. I though, oh my God, what did we do? So I went to the table and asked if everything was okay, did we do something? She looked at me and she said no, no, no, I am crying with joy, the foie gras, the taste and the texture in this foie gras reminds me of when I was child and with my mother and the way she used to make foie gras. Her mother had died and it bubbled all this emotion of her remembering back about 50 years or so. She was an older lady and it was emotion of joy of remembering the time that she spent with her mother and eating this foie gras. Food is a medium that can do that and, like you say, when you have all the elements and in the right setting, you can touch people and you can really -- no matter whether they speak the same language, whether they have the same culture as you, it transcends it all -- you can really get through to someone. It is quite an amazing thing. It is the medium which I think is most cerebral of all of them.

John Sconzo: Chef Liebrandt, welcome. Paul Liebrandt: Thank you very much. John: Let’s talk about the art of cuisine. Obviously that is something that is somewhat controversial, since a number of people, including people who are very much into cuisine and cooking and eating, don’t consider it an art. They consider it a craft. They consider it something that takes a lot of work and skill, but not necessarily an art. What is your view on that? Paul: Well, I feel there is a place obviously for food. Food is a medium which is very unlike most other mediums. If you think about film or music or painting or even the art of business, they are all arts in their own way. There is an art to doing it when somebody is very talented at doing it, but you can’t eat a painting -- you can’t smell a painting. Food and the dining experience is the only art form or craft or however you would put it, in which you use all your senses when you engage in eating in a restaurant. This makes it unique and also I think makes it a more personal, opinionated subject than most others. I think most people can agree that something like the Mona Lisa is a classic painting. It is a genius for what it is, very recognizable but how many people could say the same thing about a dish by a great chef? It is very subjective depending on who you ask. The actual form of art itself -- cooking as an art- can be looked upon in the same way as painting. You have your canvas. You have a basic technique -- you know which colors work with which shape, depth, form; the actual technique of knowing from an artistic point of view -- they teach you that when you paint a painting, you should never paint directly, that the focal point of a painting should be just off center, should lead your eye around the painting. If you think about it like this, food can be an art. Think about the creation of a flavor combination or the technique of, let’s say, making bread. It is an art to make good bread or chocolate work. That’s a craft yes, but if you look at, obviously a good chocolatier, and the creations that Pierre Herme did in his daring demo with the Ispahan (at the ICC), there is an art there. There is an art to be able to take three different flavors, marry them and come up with 18 different variations in different forms on those flavors. That is art. That is not just craft and that is something which I don’t think you can teach. I think that is something which you have or don’t have. You can develop it but I think there definitely is an artistic point in food. I don’t think it is all art. I think there is definitely craft to it. It is a repetitive craft. You have to turn it out every day. You have to deliver a very high standard and that’s what makes it different from, let’s say, being a painter, when you can perform one day and the next day you don’t have to because that is basically that style of medium. Food -- you know if you have a bad day and the food is no good -- it is very difficult to get away with that. Although no one is perfect, it is much easier to get away with doing a bad painting than cooking up a plate of food which is no good. If you understand what I am trying to pull the difference between the artistic and the craft part. I think definitely it is becoming . . . there is more art to it than there was.

eG Forum New York Q&A with Chef Paul Liebrandt an eG Spotlight presentation October 25 - 27, 2006 </div> I had been watching his career with great interest and was planning on dining at Gilt "one of these days" on one of my too infrequent trips down to New York City, but suddenly in August, it became too late to dine at Gilt under the helm of Paul Liebrandt. Procrastination foiled me again! I had the pleasure, however, of meeting the now Gilt-less Paul Liebrandt at the Starchefs.com International Chefs Congress in New York City. He recognized me from the eG Forums and offered to do an interview for the eGullet Society. I gladly accepted, and a few days after the meeting, we spoke over the telephone and recorded the discussion that follows. If you have an interest in Paul's work, the question of cuisine as art or craft, or the business of haute cuisine, we invite you to discuss the issues and concepts presented here in the interview that appears in the next four posts. Paul is a member of the eGullet Society, posting under the member name "veda." Time permitting, he may post on this thread with responses to comments and questions before then, but coming this Friday from 9am EDT to 1pm EDT 9 (GMT - 4), we in the eGullet Society have a unique opportunity to engage in a real-time "live chat" with Paul on subjects relating to his career, his cuisine and culinary thought in general. We hope and expect that with your help, the discussion that ensues will prove provocative, stimulating and satisfying. About Chef Paul Liebrandt Looking at his impressive resume, one would think that Chef Paul Liebrandt was much older than his years. Paul was born in England in the late 70’s. His father was a member of the British Special Forces who wanted his son to follow in his footsteps. Instead, Paul decided to “follow his love of cooking” and become a chef. Paul started his career as a Commis Chef in some of England’s best kitchens. In 1992 Paul worked at the Michelin one-star L’Escargot in London followed by the same position in 1994 with Marco Pierre White at his Michelin three-star restaurant. After two years with White, Paul moved on to Raymond Blanc’s Michelin two-star Le Manoir aux Quat'Saisons in Oxford, where he was Chef de Partie. In 1998 he moved to Paris and spent about a year as Chef de Partie with Pierre Gagnaire, where he learned “the importance of spontaneity,” before moving to New York City in 1999 to become Chef de Cuisine at Bouley Bakery. It was while he was running the kitchen at Bouley Bakery that the New York Times awarded the restaurant four stars. During the year 2000, Liebrandt left Bouley Bakery to become Executive Chef at Atlas, where he started to develop and become known for his own innovative cuisine. While at Atlas at the age of 23, he became the youngest chef ever to be awarded three stars by the New York Times. In his review, William Grimes called Atlas “one of the most exciting (restaurants) in the city.” “Mr. Liebrandt makes you use taste buds that other chefs ignore. He forces open the taste spectrum. To shift the metaphor, he’s like a pianist who seems to have found a couple dozen extra keys,” he wrote. In 2001 Liebrandt moved downtown to open the controversial restaurant, Papillon with eGullet Society member Will Goldfarb as his Pastry Chef. Grimes gave Papillon two stars and had this to say: The period after 9/11 was not kind to restaurants on the west side in lower Manhattan, and Liebrandt left Papillon. In the ensuing time he worked privately for people such as Lord Rothschild and HRH Prince Andrew and in 2003 founded The Veda Group, a New York based restaurant consulting firm. He returned to the restaurant stage at the beginning of this year with the restaurant Gilt located in the Villard House within the New York Palace Hotel. Despite mostly excellent reviews, the vagaries of running a hotel-owned restaurant proved too much and Liebrandt was Gilt-less in August. Paul is currently engaged in restaurant consultation work and planning his signature restaurant for New York City. He recently took part in the Starchefs.com International chefs Congress and the just completed “Spain’s 10” event in New York City.

The one to the right appears to have a large whole in the skull. Is the brain used for anything in particular?

Nice, Harlan, thanks! Was the first at Butter? Man, I wish I could have been there!

It sounds like you must be a friend of Sirio

Why the Saul hating? I see Saul as a prime candidate for a single star. It serves very solid market-driven fare, the service is professional yet friendly, the ingredients are "gourmet" without being overly fussy. I wish some of the one stars I ate in Paris were as good as Saul. Never been to Etats-Unis, so I can't say that it doesn't deserve the slam. And for my input, wd~50 should be at two stars - I think the fairly boring room holds them back. The fact that Del Posto has two while Babbo has one adds fuel to that fire. ← I can't speak for Sneakeater, but my interpretation was not so much a slam on Saul or Etats-Unis, but a defense of Devi. I am surprised that Del Posto got two stars. I would have like to have seen WD-50 with more as well. Along with the room it may be held back by its informality - two things I very much enjoy about the restaurant. sorry for the cross-post!

Agreed.

Excellent photos, Marcia. Thanks for taking the time to post them. I am curious about what was harvested from these heads. Do you or does anyone else know?

For those who may be looking for pimenton or other Spanish ingredients and having difficulty finding them, the single best source in the US that I know of is tienda.com.

I have to admit, that looked pretty good. While I love coffee I limit myself and already have a machine that I don't use. Anyway, thanks for donating it. That seems like a good price for the lucky winner.

Though I haven't been, a restaurant that has received a lot of favorable opinion here is Eleven Madison Park. BTW, it is definitely not too early to start planning this for Dec. in NYC. That is possibly the busiest season for the city.

A few thoughts: I can understand your desire to eat things other than Asian on this trip, however, the only thing I would be curious about is your perception of the dim sum at Chinatown Brasserie. It is not at all run-of-the-mill and is quite refined. Some consider it the best dim sum in N.A. I don't have the experience or the perspective to make or refute that claim. Anyway, it may be something to consider. If you want something that is truly of New York in upper end dining that you can not find anywhere else, I would suggest WD-50. Sure one can get great hypermodern cuisine in other cities, but Wylie's vision and execution is unique...and delicious. In addition, Alex Stupak is one of the most creative and talented Pastry Chefs around. I have mentioned several times that I believe that NYC is in the middle of a Pastry Revolution with an unprecedented concentration of wonderfully creative young (and not so young) Pastry Chefs in various kitchens. I am not sure of the status or timeline for Sam Mason's new restaurant, but I would consider heading there if it is open. Definitely lunch at Jean-Georges. No question. It is the greatest haute cuisine deal around. Johnny Iuzzini's desserts are excellent too. Another top-end restaurant with an excellent Pastry Chef is Le Bernardin with eG member Michael Laiskonis .

I thought that was lunch! I'm glad you enjoyed it. As much as I would love go return to CP for lunch, I really, really want to try dinner there. Next time I will have to make sure I do that and General's Daughter.

Sad indeed. Bill brought to life a part of the country many of us in the east don't have much direct experience with. I will eat some mutton in his honor. I would have loved to have met him in person. RIP, Bill.

While it would do no good if the quality of the offerings didn't back them up (fortunately, they do) I love the wit and creativity that goes into the names and descriptions. In addition to the desserts and drinks themselves, this is something Will does better than most.

Go ahead, Evan, and really make me feel bad for not being able to eat here on my next trip. It looks like an outstanding meal and an incredible value. How many of you were there eating all that food?

Great report, Evan! I will be back at TFL in a week and a half, but will likely have the same photography issues that you did as we will be dining with non-eG friends. I assume that you were at Chez Panisse for dinner? What night of the week was that? I vowed to go to dinner downstairs at CP next time I was in the area, but unfortunately won't have the opportunity this time either. C'est la vie!

My mouth is watering, Evan. I'm looking forward to the rest. I' will have to click on your report from The General's Daughter. I am bummed that I won't be able to get therre during my all-too brief upcoming trip.

i realize that this is a thread about paul, so i'll be brief. i'm jordan, and i'm the pastry chef at a new restaurant opening in late november called varietal. i'm formerly of alinea, per se, and the french laundry. paul and i are good friends, and he asked me to do the demo and the dinner at butter with him. if anyone wants to discuss this further, i suggest we start a new thread. thanks, jordan. ← Thanks Jordan for the explanation and welcome to eGullet! Best of luck in your new endeavor! ← thanks doc, we've met before at alinea, but i'm sure you were too "food drunk" to remember. great pics by the way, as always. hope you'll come to the new place and check it out when it opens, i'd be honored to have you. ← I am looking forward to it! ← Here is a photo of Alex Stupak and Jordan Kahn in action working together at Alinea last spring. I can't believe that both of these tremendous pastry chefs wound up in NYC at the same time. I must repeat myself that the concentration of pastry wizardry in NYC right now is astounding and that was before I realized that Jordan is there as well! Can any other city in the world boast of this concentration of talented and creative young chefs in the Pastry Arts? Perhaps Barcelona or Paris, but where else if even those places? ← your support is ever inspiring doc... thanks. a great addition to a lot of the pastry talent currently in new york is the relationships. the fact that all of these pastry chefs are all located in one place, but most are good friends. alex and i are very close friends, and i think our relationship helps to keep us moving in a forward direction, knowing that we can count on each other for inspiration and knowledge. thanks again for all of you guys' support. J. ← There is no question that that situation makes it even more exciting as there is the opportunity for greater synergy. In an ideal world you are all friendly competitors pushing each other forward. From what I can see things look pretty darn close to ideal.

He was there again! I'm just jealous.

I will follow this project with anticipation.