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Which celebrity chefs are also 'real' chefs? - Page 3

post #31 of 107
12/18/09 at 3:25pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Piobaire View Post
I had heard from another poaster they were great. Thanks. I know where I'll be dining before I head to the VTR
Good call on VTR. The E.4th and W.6th neighborhoods are not where you'll want to hang out for the night life. If you like food markets, the West Side market is probably one of the best in the country too and right down the street.
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post #32 of 107
12/18/09 at 3:53pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Cavalier View Post
Good call on VTR. The E.4th and W.6th neighborhoods are not where you'll want to hang out for the night life. If you like food markets, the West Side market is probably one of the best in the country too and right down the street.

Not a good area? How's the parking?
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post #33 of 107
12/18/09 at 3:58pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Teger View Post
I was eating dinner with a friend the another night and the question came up: which celebrity chefs are also real chefs? Obviously someone like Gordon Ramsey is, but what about others? Morimoto, Bobby Flay, Anthony Bourdain?

Morimoto
Batali knows food for sure
Ming Tsai
Jose Andres

are my favorite food personalities. the rest can fall in a well
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post #34 of 107
12/18/09 at 4:12pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Cavalier View Post
Good call on VTR. The E.4th and W.6th neighborhoods are not where you'll want to hang out for the night life. If you like food markets, the West Side market is probably one of the best in the country too and right down the street.

The West Side Market is filled with Middle Eastern immigrants shilling rotten produce and overpriced 'specialty foods'. Last time I was there I counted four vendors selling the same beef jerky. Nearly all of the produce came from wholesalers (really? a market with strawberries in winter?). My cousins bought a big block of 'cheddar' which had almost no flavor, pierogies that were heavy as bricks from all the excess dough on them, and the single good item we bought was kielbasa from one of the few vendors that haven't completely given up on the market (most nowadays work from a brick and mortar storefront). When it was Poles and Slovaks selling home-made foods it was good, but it hasn't been that since the mid-90's. Hawkers rode in and trampled its quality into the ground on the back of its reputation.
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post #35 of 107
12/18/09 at 4:14pm
apparently works as a child psychiatrist irl

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post #36 of 107
12/20/09 at 1:15pm
^ best celebrity chef ever
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post #37 of 107
12/20/09 at 1:32pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by bigbadbuff View Post
I still love that one chapter in (forget which) Bourdain's book that talks about the myth of the great white chef, always in the kitchen, cooking, making sure each plate is to his liking.

It's hilarious to see snooty whiteys* get ruffled when they realize a hard working immigrant is making their 10 course tasting menu.


*Being a honkee I can say this

Is this kinda like the "Made in Italy" myth of the old Italian artisan Carmine, who sits at his small workshop, toiling over a fine buttonhole, handmaking a suit, peering over his glasses?
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post #38 of 107
12/20/09 at 1:34pm
How about Martin Yen.

If Yen can cook, so can you!
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post #39 of 107
12/20/09 at 1:57pm
No celebrity chef is a real cook. You really think someone like Batali is going to pull someone like Jose from the line just so he can cook? Most Chefs are just managers. Batali could obviously cook professionally if he wanted too, but it would be a waste of time, and money for him. The days of these Chefs working the lines are long over.
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post #40 of 107
12/20/09 at 2:09pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Hombre Secreto View Post
No celebrity chef is a real cook. You really think someone like Batali is going to pull someone like Jose from the line just so he can cook? Most Chefs are just managers. Batali could obviously cook professionally if he wanted too, but it would be a waste of time, and money for him. The days of these Chefs working the lines are long over.

That brings up a distinction that needs to be drawn. If OP is asking which celebrity chefs are also "real chefs" as in they're in the kitchen every day, slaving away, expediting, etc, then the answer is very, very, very few. If OP is asking which celebrity chefs are legitimate, talented chefs who can cook incredible food, then there is a way to answer the question.
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post #41 of 107
12/20/09 at 7:28pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Hombre Secreto View Post
No celebrity chef is a real cook. You really think someone like Batali is going to pull someone like Jose from the line just so he can cook? Most Chefs are just managers. Batali could obviously cook professionally if he wanted too, but it would be a waste of time, and money for him. The days of these Chefs working the lines are long over.

uh I'm not asking what chef works a line, I'm asking which of these chefs legitimately run/could run a world class restaurant and produce amazing food..
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post #42 of 107
12/20/09 at 7:35pm
One of the better episodes of No Reservations has Bourdain and Ripert (and maybe someone else) work the line at Les Halles one night. Old dudes are dying by the end.

Bourdain has a remarkably invisible authorial voice - his prose is identical to the way he speaks. One of my favorite pieces of food writing is his description of the sushi at Masa (in The Nasty Bits, IIRC).
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post #43 of 107
12/20/09 at 7:39pm
I agree with alot of the posters here but why the hell are people bringing up Iron Chef Japan as those it was a real competition?
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post #44 of 107
12/20/09 at 7:41pm
Thread Starter 
how was it not a real competition? I'm confused.
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post #45 of 107
12/20/09 at 7:49pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by why View Post
The West Side Market is filled with Middle Eastern immigrants shilling rotten produce and overpriced 'specialty foods'. Last time I was there I counted four vendors selling the same beef jerky. Nearly all of the produce came from wholesalers (really? a market with strawberries in winter?). My cousins bought a big block of 'cheddar' which had almost no flavor, pierogies that were heavy as bricks from all the excess dough on them, and the single good item we bought was kielbasa from one of the few vendors that haven't completely given up on the market (most nowadays work from a brick and mortar storefront). When it was Poles and Slovaks selling home-made foods it was good, but it hasn't been that since the mid-90's. Hawkers rode in and trampled its quality into the ground on the back of its reputation.

The produce (outside) I completely agree with you. Also, they will have fresh stuff on display and try to pass off some rotten stuff from behind the stand.

Inside, there are still a lot of good vendors! The place is also historic.
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