Culinary Artistry

h: covel. hut you go in the bathroom and it's The art o, f the table goes beyond merely putting
J'C' 1"0"1\''' ~ ItII<'r. uTIlere's th I'S contl.l1uum even
/illhI'' I"e restaurant. that you need to ha\'e a't some recipes Into pracrIce; It embraces good manners
. hln
t111" srnelb and t10wers" and chll1<l and texture the balance of the menu, the skills of being a '
lIlt
host and of best orgamZl'ng that privileged
Il·y1ei-\'-I''-"Ul. i s ~ltrrors are .Important, because they
moment when a meaI I'S shared With guests or
.'
In' he -,ociabtlity back-people looking at other family.

rb~olnlrgIt.,..,'t..tInItWs" beeastc,ha o ther. " 'tnes. to commul1l. cate - Curnonsky and
r
es,taur.ant something about wh0

\rhJt I,t i.s-and that . It' cares about the people who are d"ll1Lng t here.
''£I'en'one 'coes.about It m a diffe' rent way, but it's ultimately a questi.on f

0

hl'\\' ')U e10 mantpulate [a dmer] mto a state of euphoria,ussingpa beroadc -
\l '
[rum, the complete palette," say~ .Patrick O'Connell. "I think young chefs L. n
rarticular feel limited to the ~onfmes of the plate. I have been astonished at

[he Impact that mmuscule thmgs will have on the press and on chents-just

bemg a htde playful in the wording of the menu, letting them know that

we're not stuffy. They want to feel that the people behmd the restaurant are

harlng fun, wo. Once agam, they're seeing a personality. That's basically

what the publtc IS :,eeing on a plate, hut they may not be adept enough to see
I[ 10 it~ broadest dimensIOns. If a chef or owner i pas ionate about something,
anymtn!?, they hould weave that into the experience ~omehow-that's a

dirnen,ion that the public crave.

Every tIme \\e plan a tril ' the day after we pay a nonrefundahle depOSit on it, there's a call from
someone for whom you simply c.mnot ~c awa} for their arrival-an important chef, an Important jour-

nabt. And you don't dJ.re ever ay anythino. I have fl\'e brother -they all got married on a Saturday.

Icouldn't go to any of their weJdmg . \Y./e belte\'e that alma t 10 percent of our clientele is eIther tn the
!'usmes 0r writing a Crttl al pIece. If you con ider all the !!ulde~-the Mobil guide has four anonymous

VL'ltsa rear, the AAA guide ha four unannounced \ I It a year. Almost every I1lght there's a single per-

n 10 the room w.kmg note, It' tre fu!. It' not ed Yto pray the piXie du~t anJ have them succumh!

hen th ugh our tatf 1- large. nd capable, you'll fmd that thing wtll go better if you're pre~ent And

e en If ome Ine get a perfect meal, they expect orne interaction al 0, With a key person.
\X,ben y u do re ch omebody, often u' \'el') powerful, the energy tramfer. And YOLI have a great

Jt~ faCti n tn mclktng that connection. It reaffIrm thJt what you're doing I' important. We open the

IT\JII e\er, da\, anJ there arc .lbout rnenty letter -and ,ome of them JLI t make Yl)U bawl! And they

il'lldlh' \, "I hJ\ e never \HUten to .1 re taurant m ffi) enme hfe for .my rea,on, hut I feel Cllmpelled to

\\TI!e U clN>ut the expenence." It' often JU t tiny,llttle actS of human ktnJne ,for the mo t part, that

t< htno to them-ho\\ the~ were treated ~y the t. ff, or how the taff went OLlt of theIr way

t n' h IWy about It tom~aecrc omm oJate them.
Iml'< n tnt tv rem that tht: I not d
It bu me . It' a ltfe' work.

3

A

"A, a hlzarre examrle. our dng Rllse [d dalmaulln} I III the re t ur nt
at th~ twnt d1111f. Sl1metlme' it's .llmnst clllnical-you think, H ven'r th
people ever , een a dog hefore, for GIld's ,ake? ~Of cour~e he' pretty md We

love her to plece~ and all this. But they get ur trnm their dinner .10 \ the, roll

on the flollr with her in their little ChaneI "uit.. , and the next thing YOll kn W

she \; got a string of rearls on. It's entertainment! It's novel.
"Chefs and restaurateurs could ask themselve~ whether there are one or

two l1lwel ideas about how they could communICate a broader dimenSion of

themselves to their clients-whatever it might be. They would pmhahly he

a toni shed by the imract that might create." says O'Connell. "It's all inside
\'ou-if you wdl Ju~t take the ~andbag, off."

An Opportunity for Community In her fascmating hook A

Natural History of the ense~.

Diane Ackerman romt - Ollt th,1(. "The other senses may he enjoyed in all

their he, ut \\ hen one I.~ alone. hut taste I~ largely acia!. Humans rarely

choo e [U Jtne II1 !HuJe. ,mJ (0(1\.! has" powerful 'ocwl component."

Leadll1!:! Lht:f.- !!ree. "F 1 h\)uld ,dw.lYs be eaten m company," say

Dieter - h mer. ''t eat It alan bring, on! half rhe rlea'lIfe. Being With
other pe pi I \\h (m lk I d be llHlfu!." LtnLI~ey Shere concur.. "Food

h uld be n) \ lhl , md "nno p Ie together omeho\\'. It people ate

t Ja ,thm \ uld be dlt ert:nt. n I It people cite and cooked

{ uld re \ It t rem."

r re [ ur tnt thell re o!.!nt:e the IInporrance ot

1 h It tl pr h t th 1010 I erlt:n e. "I think th,lt Patrick

[ )'Conn 11) nJ RelOh r j IL~ n hl h VI: b n there h r .llml) t twenty year~

ut In (h mll.l I the wIIJ me (I The Inn .il Little W,I htngtt n in
the be t Amen 10 h PltcllH) and the ~e t ot

rt:n't en u h pc pIe Itkc [hem \\ ho .Ire pIOneer.

\\h) re rn\lO~ t re te th If m1\\'l1 loe. It' !:!1\Jcn Amefl<.:an food anJ
re t lin nt nd IOn nd h el c mple It) rhat \\C uldn'r be (here \\ Ith ur

th m

But e\ n O'umnell him I .lckno" ledge, "Thl I I h rd HOle t be a

h . It remmd me t the cr tn \\hl h Fr nch CUI me \\, horn That' the

pen xl "hen the rear chef: had to pIe the bng , lOci rhe court. and the

"ere the m( t J Jed pe pIe In the \\orld-h cau e they c,)uIJ h \e lO~(htn

the 'J tried It all, the 'd d ne 1t all. Thl I H:ry Il1U h like the Am n In p b

a 9 est e yo e f It t 1. Th re h \\ond nt

p 9 as he s [I) In

beflR.r.lth ",."" roof I t It

ed I:x lit rl He n ht n \.



-In Culinary ArtistrY...Andmu ~ and Karen ..........

food and Jb!or pairinCS as a kind of ~ for the . . .~ f f 17 « I

coc*...TMr Iq1e is rhat once :YO" Icnow the scala, ,oK ........ lit

WitifOl' a J1'ftI1horr1...

-MoLLy O'NEILL. The New yorit TII'IItS Macatine

SI 71 AadlUy is .. at..."......" landmark boc*...J., rM IN",?

$' _ .... Oft dte as't., JCGIe today."

All IQi AND GI!oJtOE 8EN8C»l, DIdio hom. ~ Eelit'''n OIl NPll

-0. ef'" ... a"t% , 6wks 11/ .. ,.,-...:n. is Jhe aJ ,..,'s.. wi
• J i Fef~b1. heA' ..DUll'" Iud ';'" 11/- eM at..dJ C#Dr...
n. tCb dll- . .. " sea Iii .dr.... b I J .. dLb'" F • ...,
.., £lieu umn."
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