The Sponsored Chef

[edsz]

Today's Wall Street Journal, Weekend Edition, has a fascinating article on Sponsored Chefs.

"Some of America's most respected culinary stars are signing contracts with trade groups from raisin farmers and avocado growers to canned-good promoters--and getting cash, discounts and freebies in exchange for using their products."

Some of the chefs mentioned include Rick Bayless, David Burke, Charlie Trotter, Ming Tsai and Jose Andres !

"...Jose Andres, of Washington D.C., who since signing up with the California Avocado Commission has increased the number of dishes with avocado in them on his menu to eight from two."

Funther on:

"'When something comes my way, when it's something I love and when it gets me a little extra money, I'll do it,' says Mr. Andres, who is currently considering marketing proposals from 20 food companies."

Edited April 22, 2005 by edsz (log)

[Tweaked]

Interesting...when I was at Galileo for the grill yesterday, I noticed that Roberto Donna had a Barilla patch on his chef whites on the arm...

[MCJB2]

That's interesting, I noticed the increase of avocado dishes at Oyamel on my last visit. They even said they're having Avocado Week the week of Cinco de Mayo. My friend tried a special dessert called Avocado Four Ways & had a look of ecstasy on her face, I've never seen her look like that!

[JPW]

While I have no problem with this on an ethical level, from what I've heard from others and from what I've experienced, it has a tendency to lead to a decline in quality at the restaurants owned by these chefs.

How many places can a chef be at any one time? What's the max number of restaurants one chef can run without neglecting one? I don't know. But more power to these guys - they want to get paid and some of them are being quite successful.

It's just that sometimes their success seems to have an unfortuanate impact on the diner.

I'm in the list of people who think that Jaleo is not as good as it once was before Jose became a corporation.

I think there's a big quality difference in what you could get at Olives in Boston when Todd English was manning the pass and what you get at Olives downtown now.

I'm sure there are counter-examples (Mario perhaps?) where expansion does not harm quality of meals, but my instinct tells me that these are the exception to the rule.

[morela]

Today's Wall Street Journal, Weekend Edition, has a fascinating artile on Sponsored Chefs.

"Some of America's most respected culinary stars are signing contracts with trade groups from raisin farmers and avocado growers to canned-good promoters--and getting cash, discounts adn freebies in exchange for using their products."

Some of the chefs mentioned include Rick Bayless, David Burke, Charlie Trotter, Ming Tsai and Jose Andres ! 

"...Jose Andres, of Washington D.C., who since signing up with the California Avocado Commission has increased the number of dishes with avocado in them on his menu to eight from two."

Funther on:

"'When something comes my way, when it's something I love and when it gets me a little extra money, I'll do it,' says Mr. Adres, who is currently considering marketing proposals from 20 food companies."

←

It would be funny if the WSJ really spelled his name wrong. I'm such a prick.

[simdelish]

Interesting...when I was at Galileo for the grill yesterday, I noticed that Roberto Donna had a Barilla patch on his chef whites on the arm...

←

That may not be a paid sponsorship, in Roberto's case. RD is/has been long and heavily involved in the Gruppo Ristoratori Italiani, which is (a non-profit) group of Italian chefs in the US whose intent/mission is to further Italian cusine in this country. Among the many things they do (which is mostly just educating the public in America's number one favorite ethnic food), they also provide scholarships, fundraising, and even get involved in politics a bit... as an example, I know the Gruppo testified in front of Congress about some big tax imposed on imported dried pasta. So, I wouldn't be suprised if RD had lots of patches like the one you saw. He gets plenty of benefit, no doubt, from those connections,but most of it is NOT paid in dollars, like actual an sponsorship or spokesperson role like the avocado gig. (That's not to say either, tho, that he would turn down $ offered!)

Barilla IS the biggest pasta maker in Italy, so it would be no surprise if RD had lots of connections with them. In addition, don't forget, anytime chefs do a charity gig or competition, their jackets come with the sponsor's name patched or embroidered on them. I am quite sure RD (and Jose) have a closetful of those things. I know when I have been hard pressed for clean whites, and my usual jackets are all at the cleaners, I have had to sometimes resort to wearing one of my extras -- altho, not in public, just the kitchen. (Just like the rest of my wardrobe, I have different sizes depending on my current "disposition" )

edited to add... oh yeah, just remembered Thomas Keller is a spokesperson for the California Raisin people...no harm-no foul there.

Edited April 22, 2005 by simdelish (log)

[Busboy]

If you're cooking dishes because you're paid to, and not because you think they taste good, your restaurant will decline. What demands do the sponsors impose? How many avocado dishes to you need on one menu? What's coming off because avocados are going on?

Happy talk aside ("when it's something I love..."), once someone else starts dictating a chef's menu, the menu -- assuming it's a good chef -- declines.

I'm looking forward to one of those NASCAR-cum-Waffle House-type menus, where everthing is a Kraft Grilled Cheese Sandwich or OScar Meyer Hot Dog, and there are more logos than prices on the menu, next time I go out for tapas.

PS -- this trend may have been going on for a while. My one trip to the Mini-bar it seemed like there were a dozen mango courses. Maybe the mango guys got to him first.

[sdelgato]

...ho. Remember the shit Bayless took for those really ill advised Burger fling (King) commercials.

[Chris Amirault]

oh yeah, just remembered Thomas Keller is a spokesperson for the California Raisin people...no harm-no foul there.

←

He's also selling us Vegas -- click here.

[bmiller]

I'm looking forward to one of those NASCAR-cum-Waffle House-type menus, where everthing is a Kraft Grilled Cheese Sandwich or OScar Meyer Hot Dog, and there are more logos than prices on the menu, next time I go out for tapas.

←

calling Niman Ranch...

[bilrus]

...ho.  Remember the shit Bayless took for those really ill advised Burger fling (King) commercials.

←

In that case though, he was receiving the shit because he was hawking a) an inferior product, b) a product that he was not responsible for and c) a product that went against many of the philosophies that he had espoused his entire career.

Getting money to use a product that you would use anyway, isn't nearly the same thing.

Now if it does influence what you are turning out of your kitchen, as the article suggest, that is not quite right, but still different.

[Busboy]

...ho.  Remember the shit Bayless took for those really ill advised Burger fling (King) commercials.

←

At least he didn't screw around with his own menu.

[mdt]

I'm looking forward to one of those NASCAR-cum-Waffle House-type menus, where everthing is a Kraft Grilled Cheese Sandwich or OScar Meyer Hot Dog, and there are more logos than prices on the menu, next time I go out for tapas.

←

I am looking forward to the NASCAR type chef jackets covered with sponsor's logo patches!

[Miami Danny]

While I have no problem with this on an ethical level

←

As long as we call a spade a spade. We're not innocent, we know everyone likes money, the more the better. But when you become a shill for the Egg Council, or whatever, you lose credibility in anything you say-not only about eggs. Doubt has been cast on one's motivation. Is this a true manifestation of the chef's (doctor's, athlete's, etc.) thoughts and ideas, or is it just the money talking? I'm not just talking about Jose or Roberto. But if the Avocado Board is paying me a lot of money to shill for them, and my avocados are free, hey, it's 'Avocado Week' at Jaleo.

[rosebud]

How, if at all, would this trend affect the movement of local chefs to use "artisanal" products and arrangements with local farmers for specialty produce and organic growers?

[hannnah]

I'm looking forward to one of those NASCAR-cum-Waffle House-type menus...

←

Speak no ill of Waffle House. They serve a noble purpose - the late night must-eat-vast-quantities-of-grease-NOW breakfast, which none of the late-night breakfast places around here seem to have mastered.

And, for places like that, the corporate logos on the menu are a theoretical guarantee of quality - if the bacon's Oscar Mayer it's less likely to be not-for-human-consumption Industrial Pork Product that fell off the back of the waitress's cousin's delivery truck. It's the sign of "look, we're a big enough chain to make a deal with brand name suppliers," which in that market niche is no bad thing.

A deal to promote Commodity A by a chef who's supposedly motivated by the best and freshest ingredients is another matter. What does Jose Andres do if his produce supplier brings him crappy California avocados? The dishes are on the menu, and presumably he's got some sort of contractual obligation to serve them, but the offshore avocados are much better this week.

His choices get limited pretty quickly - either 1) knock those 8 dishes off the menu, 2) substitute the better ingredient and annoy the people who are paying him to use the worse one, or 3) dance with them what brung him and use the crappy avocados. Choice #3 is certainly the most profitable in the short term, but it's not very good for the reputation - how many repeat diners could he lose because they ordered the inferior avocado dishes and were sufficiently put off that they wouldn't return?

I'm more willing to accept corporate shilling from the Waffle Houses of this world because, well, they're a corporation. If you're an independent restaurateur, even one with multiple outlets, waving the banner of creative food made from the best available ingredients with one hand and signing deals with various commodity associations with the other, that's a little harder to take - especially at a significant price premium over the average Waffle House breakfast.

[oliveDC]

I'm looking forward to one of those NASCAR-cum-Waffle House-type menus, where everthing is a Kraft Grilled Cheese Sandwich or OScar Meyer Hot Dog, and there are more logos than prices on the menu, next time I go out for tapas.

←

I'm embarassed to say I've seen a Sandra Lee cookbook (my mother-in-law's, not mine!) and it reads just like that:

1 package fettuccine, De Cecco®

1 1/2 sticks butter, Land O’Lakes®

1 cup grated Parmesan cheese, Kraft®

scary...

[Joe H]

If you go into a grocery store in Paris you will have a choice of the frozen "TV dinners" that you can buy: perhaps Robuchon's, or Alain Ducasse or Troisgros or any of a half dozen other two and three Michelin star chefs. And, yes, they will taste like frozen dinners that have nothing in common with the E 295 prix fixe dinners teir respective restaurants serve. Massimiliano has a coffee shop and deli next door to his three Michelin star restaurant outside of Padua. On the nearby Autostrada he also operates a cafe for "travellers." Adria and SantiMaria both have their own semi casual operations in Spain.

If a chef can make a bit of money that will allow him to continue to operate a serious restaurant, then more power to him. For those who expect outposts and frozen dinners to have anything in common with the original, I believe this is their problem. Were it not for subsidies of one kind or another much of what we would consider extraordinary would not be available. What is important is NOT the quality of the franchise/branch/outpost but rather the quality of the original where the reputation was built. More often than not this is fairly close to what was originally established while branches are homogonized and have little in common. Sometimes, however, such as with Emeril's on Tchoupoulitas street this is no longer true. (For me Emeril sold out long ago.) Other times, for all of the Wolfgang Puck cafes, there is still Chinois on Main and the reincarnated Spago where the pride of the original still survives. It would seem that Cafe Atlantico and its MiniBar still rep well for Jose as does Zaytinya. I think he can be excused for the various and many Jaleos and upcoming clones of Oyamel. As long as Roberto still holds court in his Laboratorio three nights a week I can put up with a great deal of other ventures that he might get into, knowing that Laboratorio is still an extraordinary opportunity to taste true genius. As is Citronelle and Maestro-where Fabio now spends a fair amount of time opening and developing new restaurants for Ritz Carlton. Still, Maestro and Citronelle are BOTH as good as there is in the United States and banners for DC.

I would have no problem with Michel Richard's butter pecan ice cream @ $3.99 a pint knowing that his hazelnut ice cream at Citronelle, certainly, is far superior.

[sdelgato]

I'm looking forward to one of those NASCAR-cum-Waffle House-type menus, where everthing is a Kraft Grilled Cheese Sandwich or OScar Meyer Hot Dog, and there are more logos than prices on the menu, next time I go out for tapas.

←

I'm embarassed to say I've seen a Sandra Lee cookbook (my mother-in-law's, not mine!) and it reads just like that:

1 package fettuccine, De Cecco®

1 1/2 sticks butter, Land O’Lakes®

1 cup grated Parmesan cheese, Kraft®

scary...

←

bad analogy... She is a hack of the largest order. My idea of hell is watching her 24/7 for weeks at a time...

[Busboy]

I'm looking forward to one of those NASCAR-cum-Waffle House-type menus...

←

Speak no ill of Waffle House. They serve a noble purpose - the late night must-eat-vast-quantities-of-grease-NOW breakfast, which none of the late-night breakfast places around here seem to have mastered.

←

No disrespect to the Waffle House -- I got a pretty reasonable command of their menu graphics for a Yankee, ain't I?

[Busboy]

If you go into a grocery store in Paris you will have a choice of the frozen "TV dinners" that you can buy:  perhaps Robuchon's, or Alain Ducasse or Troisgros or any of a half dozen other two and three Michelin star chefs.  And, yes, they will taste like frozen dinners that have nothing in common with the E 295 prix fixe dinners teir respective restaurants serve.  Massimiliano has a coffee shop and deli next door to his three Michelin star restaurant outside of Padua.  On the nearby Autostrada he also operates a cafe for "travellers."  Adria and SantiMaria both have their own semi casual operations in Spain.

If a chef can make a bit of money that will allow him to continue to operate a serious restaurant, then more power to him.  For those who expect outposts and frozen dinners to have anything in common with the original, I believe this is their problem.  Were it not for subsidies of one kind or another much of what we would consider extraordinary would not be available.  What is important is NOT the quality of the franchise/branch/outpost but rather the quality of the original where the reputation was built.  More often than not this is fairly close to what was originally established while branches are homogonized and have little in common.  Sometimes, however, such as with Emeril's on Tchoupoulitas street this is no longer true.  (For me Emeril sold out long ago.)  Other times, for all of the Wolfgang Puck cafes, there is still Chinois on Main and the reincarnated Spago where the pride of the original still survives.  It would seem that Cafe Atlantico and its MiniBar still rep well for Jose as does Zaytinya.  I think he can be excused for the various and many Jaleos and upcoming clones of Oyamel.  As long as Roberto still holds court in his Laboratorio three nights a week I can put up with a great deal of other ventures that he might get into, knowing that Laboratorio is still an extraordinary opportunity to taste true genius.  As is Citronelle and Maestro-where Fabio now spends a fair amount of time opening and developing new restaurants for Ritz Carlton.  Still, Maestro and Citronelle are BOTH as good as there is in the United States and banners for DC.

I would have no problem with Michel Richard's butter pecan ice cream @ $3.99 a pint knowing that his hazelnut ice cream at Citronelle, certainly, is far superior.

←

Andres is running more restaurants in DC than Pizza Hut, so I'm not sure he needs bakshish from the avocado trust to make ends meet. As for frozen dinners? That's chefs pissing outside the tent. When the payola starts dictating menu choices, that's pissing into the tent. I'm sure Andres is a good guy, I've never had a bad meal at one of his joints, but taking money to change your menu is a bad road to go down.

[Miami Danny]

Andres is running more restaurants in DC than Pizza Hut, so I'm not sure he needs bakshish from the avocado trust to make ends meet.

And Shaq makes $15 Million a year and does Icy-Hot commercials. Money is money.

Edited April 23, 2005 by Miami Danny (log)

[wmsmurray]

Andres is running more restaurants in DC than Pizza Hut, so I'm not sure he needs bakshish from the avocado trust to make ends meet.

And Shaq makes $15 Million a year and does Icy-Hot commercials. Money is money.

←

Not to add fuel to the fire but an athlete endorsement usually does not have an effect on his/her game while a chef endorsement (a la Jose Andres' avocado deal) usually does.

[Busboy]

Andres is running more restaurants in DC than Pizza Hut, so I'm not sure he needs bakshish from the avocado trust to make ends meet.

And Shaq makes $15 Million a year and does Icy-Hot commercials. Money is money.

←

Not to add fuel to the fire but an athlete endorsement usually does not have an effect on his/her game while a chef endorsement (a la Jose Andres' avocado deal) usually does.

←

Shaq gets paid to put balls in the hoop. None of his sponsors are telling him how to play basketball. Andres gets paid to cook dinner. His sponsors are telling him how to do that. That's the difference.

[wmsmurray]

Andres is running more restaurants in DC than Pizza Hut, so I'm not sure he needs bakshish from the avocado trust to make ends meet.

And Shaq makes $15 Million a year and does Icy-Hot commercials. Money is money.

←

Not to add fuel to the fire but an athlete endorsement usually does not have an effect on his/her game while a chef endorsement (a la Jose Andres' avocado deal) usually does.

←

Shaq gets paid to put balls in the hoop. None of his sponsors are telling him how to play basketball. Andres gets paid to cook dinner. His sponsors are telling him how to do that. That's the difference.

←

Exactly