Chef's Theater

[curlywurlyfi]

UK members may like to know that a London version of this show is being planned.

I am barricading myself in the house till I know it is safe to go outside again.

hilarious article, though, Andy. Perhaps Ramsay will appear with his conger eel or boa constrictor or whatever it was. Perhaps he'll do a tableau of himself as Laocoon.

[TrishCT]

Actually, Bux I agree with you, it's a bizarro concept fer sure. But I am gonna talk it over with hubby tonight and see if he's interested in seeing Jacques Pepin.

[docsconz]

Given the popularity of TFN and kitchen tables as well a the "name" chefs involved, I'm not so sure that this concept will fail. I guess it depends on their profit margin. I'm not saying that it will be good theater or good dining, but it might just be popular.

[Bux]

Not good but successfully popular--I don't see any contradiction.

[Andy Lynes]

I might just hold out for Bourdain, though.

I understand that you'll be holding out for a very long time.

[KatieLoeb]

I don't know when Chef Portale will have time to kick up his heels, as he'll be commuting between NYC and Philadelphia for the foreseeable near future.

READ ABOUT IT HERE

[Andy Lynes]

hilarious article, though, Andy.

Thanks, although I have to say it pretty much wrote itself. I shouldn't say too much more on this subject as I am in deep doo-doos with the publicist of the show who is very disappointed with me.

Hopefully we'll get some first-hand reports on the show, I'll be fascinated to know what people make of it. (And if it does open on London, I've been invited to attend. In fact I was asked to go to the NY show, but there was no offer to pay my expenses so I had to say no.)

[John Whiting]

There's an epidemic of these attacks. Betty Fussell is the next in line.

Is it true that Anthony Bourdain will be doing a gourmet version of Silence of the Lambs?

[curlywurlyfi]

And if it does open on London, I've been invited to attend.

well, if you need a witness, I'll do the decent thing and come with you. never knowingly underopinionated, me.

Fi

[Bond Girl]

As a self obsessed non-culturally oriented New Yorker, I was totally unaware that there is actually a show called Chef Theater, until a friend of my invited me to it. (Hey, it was his birthday and you are supposed to humor your friends on their birthdays right?) Anyway, how bad can it be when you get to watch a chef prepare a meal on stage and eat the meal at the same time? It's sort of like watching food TV with the food. And, I may learn something.

So, I went to the Supper Club tonight to watch Tyler Florence cook dinner. Tyler is the chef of the week, and future chefs include Michael Lamonaco, Ed Brown and Douglas Rodriguez. We first had to sit through a kitschy song and dance number to get to the main gist of the show-Tyler showing us how to cook. The first course was a Seared Tuna with Avocado on Soy Lime Vinaigrette. Tyler didn't really show us how he made that dish but simply talked about it. It sounded pretty simple but the dish that was served to me contained a few slices of Tuna on top of huge chunks of hard avocados that was brown from oxidation. The overall dish didn't taste bad but it would have been much better if the avocado were more ripened and if the Tuna were of a more flavorful variety such as big eye, for instant, than the typical yellow fin tuna.

Tyler went on to demonstrate how to make a pan roasted poussin on top of a garden puree, which is actually a puree of ricotta cheese with blanched green beans, asparagus, sugar snap peas and hericot vert. Tyler blissfully explained that these vegetables actually tasted better blended together than individually. It's not my thing to eat mixed up vegetables, but I am willing to reserve my judgement until I tasted the dish. On stage, the thing simply looked like the green globby mess you see in the Exorcist movie. Up close, despite the dim lights, the Exorcist-ish appearance did not improve, and it didn't taste much better either.

Through out the demonstration Tyler repeated the importance of using kosher salt or sea salt, why everyone should have a pepper grinder, how to use lemon juice to wake up a dish and the importance of using fresh herbs. In between the courses, there were more song and dance numbers from the performers,and a basic wine lesson from Danielle Nally- Sommelier of Daniels. And, before Tyler showed us the dessert course-a panna cotta with passion fruit sauce, we were treated to his rendition of "The Summer Wind" in Frank Sinatra style. Who knew that he had so much talent?

Judging from the response of the audience, there is obviously a great fan base for Tyler and the show. And, people seemd to generally have a good time. But, at the core, Chef Theater with Tyler Florence is a musical of cooking 101. If you know a thing or two about food, you probably won't learn anything you don't already know. It's really theater more than anything else. It's highly entertaining for someone who's into musicals, they just have to eat somewhere else.

[Suzanne F]

Ya-Roo, you are a brave woman indeed.

[Bond Girl]

Not really so. On my way home, I stopped by First for some Tiny Tinee to congratulate myself for surviving the evening and got some Rice and Beans from the loacl cuban takeout for some real dinner.

[oakapple]

A gimmick concept called "Chef's Theater" opened last week at the Supper Club, 240 W. 47th St. According to the website:

Each week, a different chef and menu is featured. Among the chefs scheduled to appear are: Todd English (Olive's), Tyler Florence (The Food Network), Michael Romano (Union Square Cafe), and Ed Brown (Sea Grill). Sommeliers are on hand to present a wine-tasting. Following the chef's performance, the audience will be served the meal they've just seen prepared. The second act of the show is devoted to dessert. The bar opens at 6:30pm. Audience members receive a gift bag filled with recipes and other culinary items when they leave the show.

In a clever two-part review in the New York Daily News, drama critic Howard Kissel discusses the entertainment ("Theater With Dinner"), and restaurant critic Pascale Le Draoulec discusses the food ("Dinner With Theater"). You can access both here.

Neither critic is impressed. Kissel writes:

Every New York restaurant worth its salt, from Katz's to Bouley, is a piece of theater, from the second you are greeted to the moment you leave.

That's why the show "Chef's Theater," an attempt to cash in on the current obsession with restaurants, is unnecessary.

Its theatrical component is too feeble to make it work as dinner theater — a genre, by the way, that is too little appreciated here.

And Le Draoulec writes:

"Chef's Theater" reminds me of "fusion" cooking: It's a great big mishmash of a musical meal.

It's part dinner theater, part Vegas lounge act, part cooking class and part shameless merchandising (each rotating guest star chef — from Michael Lomonaco to Jacques Pepin — gets to sell cookbooks after the show).

Guests sit at round tables of 10. A band shares the stage with a display kitchen. The chef's demonstrations are interspersed with musical numbers performed by perky professionals.

[snip]

Regardless, any time more than 200 dishes are served at the same time the food is going to taste catered. I prefer my catering food at a wedding. Among friends.

Guests get recipes of the dishes served as they leave and they do look promising if cooked on a smaller scale.

At $125 a ticket, the show is not cheap. The recommended flight of wine (surprisingly hackneyed choices considering the guest sommelier was Danielle Nally of Lespinasse and Daniel) is an extra $35.

Throw in a tip and for that kind of money, you could enjoy a truly fine meal at one of New York's more elegant restaurants where the natural ­drama that unfolds in the dining room each night is often theater enough.

You might even have enough left over for a real Broadway show.

[Suzanne F]

Thanks for the reviews, oakapple. And to think that our own Andy Lynes said pretty much the same thing, sight unseen. Is that man prescient, or what?

[oakapple]

I guess things aren't going too well. I got an e-mail tonight from Playbill online, offering dinner tickets for $75 apiece (reg. $125), brunch tickets for $45 (reg. $65), or dessert tickets for $25 (reg. $45).

If you're interested—not that I would personally recommend it even at these reduced prices—go to http://www.broadwayoffers.com and enter code CFRAPPX. Or, call telecharge at (212) 947-8844 and mention code CFRAPPX.

Chefs, menus, musical, guests, and performance dates are listed here.

Edited April 21, 2004 by oakapple (log)

[Fat Guy]

Not to take anything away from Andy, but seeing that this thing was going to be a disaster didn't require any preternatural abilities!

[Andy Lynes]

Not to take anything away from Andy, but seeing that this thing was going to be a disaster didn't require any preternatural abilities!

So what stopped the investors?

[docsconz]

The money was burning holes in their pockets.

[Mulcahy]

From today's New York Post.

Seems Chef's Theater is no more, at least through Labor Day. I bet it's done for good.

[sabg]

should i be afraid to admit i am taking my son to see COOKIN on friday night. he saw it on the cooking channel and i got 45.00 tix, so its his friday night surprise. i have those 25.00 certs i got 3.00 at restaurant.com so i thought we wouldcheck out the celebrity deli for sammys and stage deli for big pieces of pie. al for the low price of 6.00 thanks to fellow egulleteers

[TrishCT]

Chef's Theater was high concept, and with the musical numbers, conceptually seemed doomed. But I do like the idea of going to dinner, with a celebrity chef cooking demo. I personally would pay to see Jacques Pepin do that.

[mikeycook]

We had tickets for Marcus Samuelsson on June 4th. Just got an email and call today telling us about the cancellation. Too bad.

[sabg]

Chef's Theater was high concept, and with the musical numbers, conceptually seemed doomed. But I do like the idea of going to dinner, with a celebrity chef cooking demo. I personally would pay to see Jacques Pepin do that.

i would have gladly paid for rosengarten, just that brunch was bad timing for me

[Suzanne F]

should i be afraid to admit i am taking my son to see COOKIN on friday night. he saw it on the cooking channel and i got 45.00 tix, so its his friday night surprise. i have those 25.00 certs i got 3.00 at restaurant.com so i thought we wouldcheck out the celebrity deli for sammys and stage deli for big pieces of pie. al for the low price of 6.00 thanks to fellow egulleteers

Oh, no, you shouldn't. From what I've heard, that show is sort of STOMP with kitchen implements.

Someone -- bloviatrix? -- posted about it, I think, when it originally opened at the New Victory.

[Kim WB]

i have souvenier t-shirts if anyone wants one! Edited May 26, 2004 by Kim WB (log)