March 2015www.bloombergbriefs.com
The Cure for the Common Winter Is Butter and Fat
BY PETER ELLIOT, BLOOMBERG BRIEF EDITORDespite promises of spring, March is looking cold, gray, dreary — and likely to remain
so. From snow to ice to polar blasts, the final weeks of winter are often the cruelest of allin the northern hemisphere. Fortunately, the frigid end to the first quarter has at least onebenefit: It justifies our craving for warm, dense, buttery comfort foods.
A few weeks ago, I was at Portland, the new restaurant in London run by Will Lander reviewed by Bloomberg critic in this issue. Nearly everything on the menuRichard Vineslooked sensational and healthy, save for one indulgent, winter-inducing comfort plate:the pithivier. What's that, you ask? Think giant pot-pie, filled with pigeon and mallardmeat, black truffles and a classic game sauce. You can guess what I ordered.
Be it a boeuf bourguignon, a cheeseburger drenched in onions or a good old chickenpot pie, winter means you call it comfort, not gluttony. Besides, we still have severalmonths of sweater weather to burn it all off.
London1. In a land where The Jugged Hare:shooting remains sport, few restaurantsknow how to serve the results. But it's notjust game here. Fish pies and a wideselection of ales will warm you up fast.
2. Asian comfort food counts, too. Koya:This is the leader in the London udon andramen wars, in part because chefs lovethe foot-trodden noodles and fair prices.
is a strong second place.Bone Daddies
3. A room where all isThe Savoy Grill:right with the world. And one of GordonRamsay's treasures. March is pie month;try the steak and Maldon Rock oyster orthe chicken and crayfish. And a martini.
New York1. The quintessential The Little Owl:Greenwich Village restaurant. Relaxedbut serious rustic-Italian food to warm anystomach. Try walking in. Reservations arevery hard to secure until they know you.
2. Andrew Carmellini's most The Dutch: relaxed and homey spot (with an equallygood sister in sunny Miami) specializes inaged-meats supplied by Pat LaFrieda. It'sNYC's most secret super-steak house.
3. Even after its move acrossFranny's:Flatbush Ave to new digs, the wood-firedovens here generate warmth andfantastic pizzas. Feel better about thecarbs by trying their wonderful salads.
Bloomberg Global Top Five*
London1. — Real live food, really aliveBeast2. Gymkhana — Best Indian pub3. Scott's — Mayfair's classiest fish joint4. City Social — British in the sky5. Chez Bruce — European favorite
New York1. — NYC's best bistro?Little Prince2. — Mexican game changerCosme3. — Chic in every wayThe Nomad4. — Bobby Flay's SpanishGato5. — Refined luxurySushi Nakazawa
Hong Kong1. — Korean fried chickenUncle Padak2. — Mid-East fun in Wan ChaiDjiboutii3. — Retro Italian from NYCCarbone4. — Popular FrenchOne Thirty-one5. — Business ChineseMott 32
Paris1. — The original L'AtelierRobuchon2. — My favorite FrenchTaillevent3. — Asia plus techniqueMum Dim Sum4. — Bistro perfection Le Grand Vefour 5. — A French jewelry boxL'Astrance
*Top is compiled from on the DINE <GO>Bloomberg Terminal. The formulaincludes hits, reviews and ratings.
The return of comfort foods and whyMarylebone is the new "it" place. Clickthe photo or to launch.link
IF/THEN BY PETER ELLIOT, BLOOMBERG BRIEF EDITOR
Source: Bloomberg/Peter Elliot
It's really a fancy pot pie — the game pithivier at Portland in London
March 2015 Bloomberg Brief Reserve 2
IF/THEN BY PETER ELLIOT, BLOOMBERG BRIEF EDITOR
If You Like Barbuto... ...Then You'll Love Little Prince
Simplicity as a food style still has an uphill battle in a world where many diners expect rarefied cuisine for their money. In 1984,Jonathan Waxman opened Jams, exporting casual Californian style to New York and then London. Ten years ago he opened Barbutoin the then forlorn West Village and captured the zeitgeist again. People have been licking their fingers unapologetically ever since.Restaurants like Balthazar, Little Prince and others that practice sophisticated simplicity owe a debt of gratitude to Waxman. The bestnews for simple cuisine? Jams will make a comeback this spring in NYC at Barry Sternlicht's 1 Hotel Central Park.
IF: Barbuto
Address: 775 Washington Street, NYC
Setting: Industrial open-plan chic
Food: Jams 2.0 via Italy
Bar Scene: Great for eating and wine
Noise Level: Cacophonous and fun
Date Factor: If he/she isn't soft-spoken
Groups: Two of the best private tablesin New York and easy for small groups
Secrets: Do you want to see whereHollywood really does deals? This is theplace for starlet (and producer) sightings
THEN:
Little Prince (New York): The latest inheritor of bistro chic. Bloomberg clients love itfor its French onion soup burger, the quinoa salad and its lack of pretension. Its locationon the far Western edge of Soho makes it equidistant to almost everywhere in the city.
The Red Cat (New York): I love the slang "moreish" — to want more. This Chelseastaple headed by Jimmy Bradley has a new chef, new pastry chef and a new menu.
Al di La (Brooklyn): Consistently at the top of lists for New Yorkers wanting to crossthe river. Portuguese influenced comfort food reaches its coziest peak right here. Eat thebacalao and the braised rabbit, and don't skimp on dessert. Try its twin . Al di La Vino
Casse-Croute (London): Classic French. It wins on value for money and an authenticexperience. It's also open morning through night. Start the day with a pain au chocolat.
Bocca Di Lupo (London): This Italian brasserie is to London what Barbuto is to NYC.Just the right edge of chic, just the right edge of crowded, just the right edge of fun.
OPENINGS
Blixen: An informal take on the grandEuropean brasserie, set in Spitalfields.Quickly becoming the anti-Soho House.
Dolls House: The successful pop-upopens a permanent location with bar,restaurant and private members club.
Engawa: A teppanyaki (iron griddle)restaurant specializing in seared Kobebeef in the chic Ham Yard hotel.
LondonChevalier: La Grenouille's Charles
Masson opens his own "next-generation"spot in the new Baccarat Hotel.
El Colmado: Seamus Mullen of Tertuliafame, back from London with a tapas barin the Gotham West Market.
Ganso Yaki: Tadashi Ono, a master ofJapanese yakitori, teams up with theGanso team in downtown Brooklyn.
New YorkBabbo Pizzeria: Mario Batali and Joe
Bastianich's first outpost of the Babbobrand-name at the new fancy Fan Pier.
Committee: A dash of Mediterraneansun just in time to get out from under themounds of snow. Also at Fan Pier.
Bisq: Sister of Bergamot, so think smallplates of French-inspired fare, seriouswines and a deeply Cambridge vibe.
Boston
YOUR NIGHT OUT BY PETER ELLIOT, BLOOMBERG BRIEF EDITOR
Source: Bloomberg/Peter Elliot
New York's best chicken: Jonathan Waxman's $19 legend at BarbutoSource: Bloomberg/Peter Elliot
New York's best hamburger: 'The French Onion' at Little Prince
March 2015 Bloomberg Brief Reserve 3
YOUR NIGHT OUT BY PETER ELLIOT, BLOOMBERG BRIEF EDITOR
Marylebone Is London's Newest Revitalized Hub and the Center of Its Culinary FutureMarylebone is the new "it" area of
London. The dense, red-brick Victorian
neighborhood, owned by the Howard deWalden family, was once famous fordoctors offices, charity shops andbachelor flats that housed the fictionalSherlock Holmes. In the mid-1990s, theowners of the estate decided to changecourse and entice in restaurants andchic-retail shops to inject new life.
This revitalized area is as close asLondon gets to the urbanity of New Yorkor Paris. It's now full of public-relationsexecutives, bankers and fashionistas whowant solid apartments with elevators,security and lots of nearby amenities.Think of it like the Upper East Side withbetter food.
Andre Balazs's Chiltern Firehouse is theepicenter of the scene. Paparazzi lurk at
its entrance waiting for a taxi to drop offfamous faces. Like it or hate it,
Marylebone typifies London's ascendanceto a serious restaurant culture.
Go With Clients
DRINKSArtesian: At the Langham Hotel onPortland Place. A great entry point.
The Cavendish: This is a moreinclusive, if equally refined, Chilternvariant. Bar as well as restaurant.
DINNERChiltern Firehouse: It's beendecades since a restaurant hascaused such hype. The star of AndreBalazs's empire if you can get in, it'sthe place for celebs of everyprofession. Is it worth it? Yes, if youwant to be in the "in" crowd. The hypewon't last forever, but it's fun now.
Trishna: The most delicious Indiancoastal food from the team that wenton to develop Gymkhana.
Galvin Bistrot de Luxe: Top notchbrasserie fare at semi-reasonableprices, plus a charming dining room.
L'Autre Pied: The restaurant thatstarted the Marylebone-foodrevolution. Still sensational on everylevel. Sister of nearby Pied a Terre.
Go With Friends
DRINKSThe Bok Bar: A pub next to Chilternwhich means it attracts a similar setplus the wannabes. Fun peoplewatching. The Grazing Goat: A French villagepub. Drinks and a solid restaurant forbreakfast and weekend lunch.
DINNERPortland: The most important newrestaurant to open in London in years.It the chic-casual urbanity ofcapturesthe revitalized Marylebone.
Carousel: The concept is a new chefalmost constantly. Pop ups taken tothe next level. A great gimmick forspotting new or foreign talent.
Donostia: Basque-focused tapas.Have the cod cheeks with squid ink.
LATE NIGHTPurl: The twin of Worship StreetWhistling Shop. Excellent mixologists.
Authentic Japanese barCocoro:open til 4 a.m. Like a trip to Tokyo.
Go With Family
Brunch:Fischer's: The Wolseley team goMitteleuropa. Think 19th CenturyVienna. Open almost around theclock.
Opso: Arguably best modern Greek intown, all served tapas style. Alsoopen breakfast, lunch and dinner.
DINNERLe Relais de Venise: Some call it aFrench McDonalds. Actually, McD'soffers more choice. Here it's steak.salad, dessert. Still, simple works.
Tommi's: Some say these are thebest burgers in London. Easy andcasual. Perfect for friends/family.
28-50: The numbers are winetemperatures. It's a wine-bar conceptthat works for both drinks, dinner anda casual meal with the family.
Orrery: Orreries are mechanicalmodels of the solar system. Thismeans the children can learnastronomy while you celebrate abirthday or graduation. Expensive.
RESTAURANT REVIEW: LONDON
Source: Bloomberg/Richard Vines
Chiltern Firehouse's doors open to red-brick buildings full of restaurants, shops and apartments.
March 2015 Bloomberg Brief Reserve 4
RESTAURANT REVIEW: LONDON
London's Portland Restaurant Mixes Rustic Dishes With Rollicking WinesBY RICHARD VINES
Many restaurants open with a splash.It's Champagne usually — Prosecco if theparty is thrown by an Italian or acheapskate.
Portland snuck under the radar lastmonth when it opened on Great PortlandStreet, in central London. If any corkspopped, I didn't hear them. No publicistswere employed.
This informal British restaurant, housedin a former clothing showroom, isself-effacing to the point ofnear-invisibility. The decor is understatedand the prices are modest. Even thecooking isn't show-off: The finest dish is apie.
The game pithivier, for two people at£19 ($29.37) per person, is the mostexpensive item on the menu. The crust issoft and buttery, without being soggy orcloying. The meat is so rich and powerful,it would go to Davos each year if it werehuman.
But then we would be cannibals foreating it, so let's park that image to oneside.
The filling varies. When I tried it, stripsof pigeon meat formed a layer over wholemallard breasts, providing a contrast oftextures and colors and mouthfuls ofalmost melting flesh. Game sauce — areduction made with birdy bones — justtakes the flavor deeper, as does someblack truffle, resulting in one of thosemoments when conversation stopsbecause you are using your tongue totaste rather than to talk. The sensation isdark and smoky, a smoldering fuse offlavor.
The menu starts with snacks, includingpig's head croquettes — crispy, unctuous,and oozily seductive — which are servedwith a kimchi mayonnaise. The acidity ofthe dip whips the balance of crisp andfatty flavors into line. This is rustic foodthat has an urbane, almost cosmopolitanedge.
Pickled shitake mushrooms come withsoy and ginger. Did I say this was aBritish restaurant? We're all multiculturalnow, with the exception of the occasional
Chelsea soccer fan in Paris.White onion and parmesan soup is a
vegetarian flavor hit, as is the potatognocchi, served with pumpkin and kalepesto. Blood sausage, a gooey boudinnoir, bashes your taste buds and thenwallops them with red onion.
And the smoked ox tongue sandwich?I'd say it speaks for itself, if that weren't atroubling thought. Let's say it is like a bigpastrami treat with sauerkraut and grainymustard between slabs of first-classsourdough.
The desserts are fine, though I rarelyget excited about desserts. The lemontart successfully walks the line betweensweet and sharp without wobbling. It istopped with meringue as well as tarragon,a classic combination for a taste of theMediterranean.
The chef, Merlin Labron-Johnson,comes from Devon, in the west ofEngland. He worked at restaurants inSwitzerland and France before spendingtwo years at In de Wulf, in Heuvelland,Belgium, which holds a Michelin star.
His dishes are clean and unfussy, withtypically just a few ingredients. Thepresentation is similarly well-judged anduncluttered.
It's the wine list that makes Portland aslam-dunk for me. A rollicking good timeis assured, unless you are depressed.
Although it is short, there are severaltreats, including ""En Chalasse" JulienLabet 2012, a Chardonnay from Jura thatis subtle and lemony. While it's not cheap,at £57, it is available by the glass (at £11)if you are on a budget. The reserve list iseven more tempting. The Wood RoadZinfandel, Ravenswood, Sonoma 1996(£69) is more than worth the price, thoughI think I have finished it, so good luck.
The owners are youthful industryveterans. Will Lander co-owns the QualityChop House while Daniel Morgenthau isex-10 Greek Street. One of the positivesabout Portland is that the menu and thewine list change almost daily, dependingon what is available. It's that kind of place.You're not going to get signature dishesor fawning service. Think neighborhoodrestaurant and you should be fine. Lookelsewhere for quote-unquote elevatedgastronomy.
Portland may not bring a lot that is newto the table. It just fills it with things youwant to eat and drink.
Richard Vines is the chief food critic for
Bloomberg. Follow him on Twitter @richardvines
RESTAURANT REVIEW: NEW YORK
Source: Bloomberg/Peter Elliot
Chef Merlin Labron-Johnson working behind the line at Portland in Marylebone
March 2015 Bloomberg Brief Reserve 5
RESTAURANT REVIEW: NEW YORK
Hunt & Fish Club Commits Crimes Against Truffles, Misses Steakhouse MarkBY TEJAL RAO
If you're looking for a tater tot partylubed with truffle oil and aioli, I know justthe spot: New York’s hottest club is Hunt& Fish. The 10,000 square-foot restaurantopened recently in Manhattan’s Midtown,right by the formerly-haunted BelascoTheater, and specializes in faux-mage—that thing where restaurants say they'rean homage to a classic steakhouse, thendo whatever.
As Stefon might put it, this place haseverything: the kind of fragmented mirrorsused to foreshadow psychotic breaks inthrillers; giant paintings embossed withpoems in braille; and, soon, a shoeshinestation so you can share a porterhousewith an escort in your socks.
The porterhouse is a rather serious,impressive cut of meat. At first glance, itlooks like a T-bone, but it’s carved fromslightly farther back in the animal, wherethe frame widens, so the steak gives youa more generous amount of tenderloinalongside that exquisite and arguablymore delicious strip. The one at Hunt &Fish Club comes from Pat LaFrieda, amarquee-name, New Jersey-basedpurveyor that ages the beef for 28 days.The porterhouse costs $55 a person andarrives at the table sliced on the bone in apool of dark juice. It should be the star ofthe evening.
Sadly, the meat on a recent eveningwas corpse-cold, under-seasoned, andcooked so unevenly that it was nearlyblue on one side while the other wasbloodless and grey. The beef had beenmistreated on the carving board as well— sliced into inelegant, crooked piecesthat varied wildly in thickness.
About 15 minutes after the porterhouselanded, just as the fat on the slate hadbegun to congeal, the bearnaise arrivedin a small silver pitcher. The butteryemulsion appeared to have traveled agreat distance and it was exhausted.
The most ostentatious burger on thelunch menu is the “Mirrors and Marble”($32), an under-seasoned patty of rib-eyeand strip, which apparently comes withbone marrow and black truffles, bothundetectable under a layer of bacon,truffle aioli, and thick fried-onion rings.The fries, advertised as “parmesan fries,”
are skinny and pale and tasteless.Desserts are presented dramatically,
with very tall garnishes. Take the prettyslice of Devil’s Food cake ($14),balancing on a log of coffee mousse,covered in silver dragees (the shiny,unpleasantly crunchy beads often used todecorate holiday cookies). It is expertlybuilt, with many thin, even layers, but it’sfar too dense and inexplicably bland, likea slice of defrosted wedding cake.
There may be reasons to go to Hunt &Fish Club, but a fine meal isn’t one ofthem. Former Morgan Stanley executiveNelson Braff, Skybridge Capital founderAnthony Scaramucci, and restaurateurEytan Sugarman opened their restaurantin an old relic of the theater district — theformer Hotel Gerard, built in 1893 andlandmarked a couple of decades ago.The building’s facade on 44th Street isbeautiful and the main dining room insideis grand, glinting with mirrors and marble,twinkling with hanging lights. It's faintlydeco but meant to evoke nostalgia for theunrestrained decadence of the 1990s. Inmany ways it does: The scene is big andbuzzy and includes the finance industry,curious tourists, and local celebrities. The bar up front is a comparativelycozy, dark room with velvet and leatherchairs, absolutely packed at happy hourwith flirtatious fortysomething men insuits, tanned women in TV makeup, and
the odd business meeting. Hunt & Fish Club’s attempts athigh-roller glam could be fun if the qualityof the service and food were higher andthe levels of luxury were consistent.Instead, it’s just awkward, as when youwash your hands and someone performsthe outdated, unnecessary service ritualof squirting the soap for you. The restaurant embraces an additionaldated extravagance: truffle oil. "This is a little piece of heaven," thewaitress told me as she set down a plateof truffle tater tots — a side she’d singledout earlier in the evening as a must-order.Our ideas of the afterlife must be quitedifferent. The tots were enormous, eachbig enough for several bites. Some hadburned crevices but insides filled withstrips of raw potato. The tots were dousedin so much truffle oil, they smelled like apetrol station on a very hot day. Truffle oil tastes nothing like the realthing, and it should be used sparingly,ideally, not at all. Truffle oil is to freshtruffles as the light of your screen is to thesun. It’s also a bully, edging out everyother scent in the room with its intense,artificial clobber. Just as Hunt & Fish is toelegant Manhattan steakhouses: a loudand often clumsy imitation.
Tejal Rao is the New York food critic for
Bloomberg. Follow her on Twitter @tejalrao
DESTINATIONS: PORTLAND, OREGON
Source: Bloomberg/Evan Sung
Hunt & Fish Club's mirroed black lacquer bar is popular with Midtown's after work crowd
March 2015 Bloomberg Brief Reserve 6
DESTINATIONS: PORTLAND, OREGON
A Foodie Paradise Where You Can Open With a Nickel, a Dream and a Food TruckBY PETER ELLIOT
Portland, Oregon may be the buzziestcity in the food world. Its hippy pastmeans healthy-urban living is culturallyingrained today. Couples drop their kidsat school, debate last night's dinner, thenfeed their backyard chickens. Alternatemodes of transportation mean there'svirtually no traffic. There are three timesmore food carts than garbage trucks.
Duane Sorenson, the founder ofStumptown Coffee, and Andy Ricker ofPokPok are the city's reigning kings.Venture-capital funds are eager to signbig checks and spread the gospel ofperfectly roasted coffee or Khao Soi(curry and coconut soup with noodles)originating in the hipster mecca.
Portland incubates talent well in partbecause it's cheaper than other U.S.cities and tolerates failure. The standardrule to open in most cities is don’t tryunless you have enough capital to getthrough your first year. "In Portland youjust need enough to open and get by,"said Jenn Louis, a 20-year veteran of the
Portland scene who runs restaurantsLincoln and Sunshine Tavern. "With anaverage income of $30K per year, morefamilies spend money on food than theydo on ballgames."
And that's precisely what I found in Portland. Food is the city's sport. While
there are some high-end restaurants withincreasingly L.A. prices, the bulk of themremain cheap, delicious andexperimental. Each restaurant (or foodtruck) is working hard and hoping they'rethe next Stumptown or PokPok. Theymight be.
Top Restaurants:Little Bird Bistro: The more casual bistro sister of much
lauded Comfy banquettes. Downtown.Le Pigeon.
Ava Gene's/The Woodsman Tavern: Owned by Stumptown'sDuane Sorenson with strong NYC influences (and prices.) AG'sis more Italian, while WT is all about the meat (and oysters).
Ataula: Jose Chesa is considered the most important Spanishchef this side of Jose Andres. A perfect gastropub Espanol.
Navarre: A hodge podge of styles: Spanish, French and Italian,plus great technique, a Portlandia vibe and reasonable pricesmake this my favorite restaurant in the city.
Bollywood Theater: One of the most fun places to try Indianstreet food without going to India. Fantastic indoor/outdoorspace, too. Get the spicy fried okra, the papri chaat and a t-shirt.
Beast: An explosion of all things meat — cow, pig, duck,sheep, you name it, from James Beard winner Naomi Pomeroy.
Maurice: This tiny gem downtown is part pastry shop andFrench lunch spot. Plated desserts and lunch.
PokPok: Make the pilgrimage to the home of the patron saintof Thai food in America, Andy Ricker. Know that he often skipsthe lines and goes to down the block for the pho.Ha & VL
Brunch: Almost every restaurant does a brunch menu. Portland residents don't get stressed about anything — except brunch.
Take in the neon: From the famous Portland, Oregon sign with its white stag, you'll see more cool neon signs here thananywhere else in America outside of Las Vegas. Many are attached to strip clubs, which also double as music venues.
Wine country: An hour southwest of downtown are some of the best Pinot Noirs in the world. If you have an afternoon free,select a few of your favorite vineyards (after trying them in local restaurants first) then head out to the Dundee Hills.
Get in line: Getting into almost anywhere means standing in line. Don't cut. The idea here is to get friendly with your fellowneighbors, learn what they've eaten or are planning to eat, and make new friends.
Get a shave and a haircut (or a tattoo): Old fashioned barber shops are everywhere. I chickened out on the tattoo challenge.
Music: Great food and great music go hand in hand. Which came first? Portland's music scene? Or its food scene? Go find out.
Donuts: Voodoo Doughnut had lines swirling for blocks. You'd think they were cronuts. You'll see the pink boxes all over the city.
INSIDER TIPS
Next month: Berlin. MSG me at [email protected]
SPOTLIGHT: SOBEWFF BY PETER ELLIOT
Source: Bloomberg/Peter Elliot
Portland's essence captured: Food trucks, facial hair, tattoos, baby strollers and sensible cars
March 2015 Bloomberg Brief Reserve 7
SPOTLIGHT: SOBEWFF BY PETER ELLIOT
Chefs Converge on Miami for Wine, Food FestivalBloomberg Brief: Reserve and Bloomberg Radio headed to Miami to cover the largest food event in the U.S., the South Beach Wineand Food Festival. Chefs and industry leaders stopped by our studio at the Loews Hotel Feb. 19-22 to talk trends and visit with friends.Here are some favorite moments, complete with audio files. Just hit the orange "play" buttons to hear a mix of soundbites and full radiointerviews.
Stephanie Izard
"I'm opening a Chinese
version of Girl & the Goat for
the year of the goat. And I
want a baby!"
Jonathan Waxman, Andrew & Rishia Zimmern, Alex Stupak
The Zimmerns pop into an interview. Waxman's advice to his younger
colleague? "Keep doing what you're doing and never stop. And don't
forget, your new son Jackson is more important than any restaurant."
Guy Fieri
"In three years I'm on a beach,
making food I want and
worrying about what kids eat.
That's all."
Dominique Ansel
"The cronut is a sensation, but
it's only one of many tricks I
have up my sleeve. Just you
wait."
Alex Atala
"How to take on big food?
Chefs are the loudest voice in
the food chain. And I yell loud.
And long."
Aaron Sanchez Crashes Marc Murphy's Interview
Murphy: "To know Aaron and his mom, Zarela Martinez, is to
understand the history of Latin flavor in this country. Now can we go
back to discussing minimum wages and tipping? That's a big issue."
Ralph Scamardella
"Tao, Lavo, wherever we are,
I'm out there making sure our
clients get great food they
recognize that tastes great."
Todd English, Peter Elliot, Marcus Samuelsson, Ming Tsai
Marcus: "I've spent my whole life discovering, and rediscovering, from
Ethiopia to Sweden to America to Harlem. The more I get attacked for
not being a 'native,' the more native I become. Red Rooster was just the
start. Now we're doing Harlem EatUp! and Streetbird Rotisserie."
Martha Stewart
Checking out Reserve while
waiting to go on air to discuss
her book "Clean Slate."
"There's butter in it. Don't worry."
Q&A
March 2015 Bloomberg Brief Reserve 8
Q&A
April Bloomfield Ponders Life as a Reluctant Celebrity Chef and a Decade in NYC
When the notoriously shy April Bloomfield was
"discovered" in 2003 at London's River Cafe and
brought to New York to run New York's hippest
and most star studded gastropub, The Spotted
Pig, she was 29 and had never been to America.
In her native Birmingham, she'd wanted to be a
policewoman. With her business partner Ken
Friedman, she's since opened four more
restaurants, got the highest score ever on the
Food Network's Iron Chef series and starred in
PBS's "The Mind of a Chef" where she was
positioned as one of the world's most important
chefs. As she gets ready to release her second
book, "A Girl and Her Greens," Bloomberg Brief's
Peter Elliot caught up with her in New York.
Q: When you first arrived in the U.S., itwas like you were the bride in anarranged marriage. Is that true? A: More or less! Jamie [Oliver] was afriend of Ken [Friedman], and Ken ofMario [Batali], blah blah. It was fast. Itwas scary. And very exciting. They knewwhat they wanted for the Spotted Pig. ButI was also ready for a change. I’d gone asfar as I could. I could have stayed another10 years but I wanted to challenge myselfprofessionally and personally.
Q: What have you learned since then? A: I've learned to be a better manager, abetter leader. I've really had to learn toadapt and change and mold. You have tolearn to change. Or at least I did. I stillcan't answer every text or e-mail — Ilearned to get a lovely assistant. Most ofall I've learned about balance. It's not justabout the e-mails, or the assistant; it'sabout learning how to grow so yourpeople have something to hold onto andstill keep a balance.
Q: Can you give me an example? A: Ken would want to open 10 morerestaurants. I want less. So we sit downand battle it out.
:Q Why not? Is it too much personally?Or too much professionally? A: Both. Too much of everything. If you
don't have a good home life, if you don'tget enough sleep — I know cooks whoparty like animals and then cook behindthe line — whatever it is, if you do toomuch of it, you'll implode. Too manyrestaurants to me is like that. I look, butI'm cautious.
Q: What is your partnership with Kenlike? What makes it work? A: We have a good one. We listen toeach other. If we’re happy, we say. Ifwe’re unhappy, we say. We try not tocommunicate too much by e-mailbecause things can really go awry. Lotscan get misconstrued by e-mail or text.So we learned to meet a lot, and inperson.
Q: Interview over! That might be thebest piece of advice for partners,"Don't email, says April Bloomfield!" A: Really? Can I go then?
:Q Does being interviewed make youthat uncomfortable? A: Yes. I mean no. No. I’ve always beenshy. But being in public comes with thejob. It’s the balance thing again, right?I’ve learned to deal with my shynessbetter. I hope. I joke with Ken that if hehadn't pulled me from behind the line,we'd never have opened John Dory!
Q: So how did you do Iron Chef andMind of a Chef? Lights, cameras... A: It's a skill like any other. I forced myselfto learn it. It's not like I had to act. Ilearned how to look into a camera andtalk to people, develop that different side.Sometimes it makes you uncomfortable,but that’s good because it means you’restretching your boundaries and you’relearning from that process.
Q: You've become synonymous withgastropubs. Are you tired of it yet? A: There was a time in England wheneveryone had that style and I became apart of it. Now it means more. It meansyou can go to a place that's casual andget chef-driven food. What irritates me is
that I'm interested in all sorts of foods andtechniques. I mean if I wasn’t, it would bekind of weird, wouldn’t it? On Sunday, Imade ramen from scratch just because Iwanted to master it. I really don’t want tobe put in a box. I love warm spices, thingsthat are exact, maybe one day EasternEuropean or Middle Eastern. And ofcourse, that's why we did "A Girl and HerGreens." [Which follows her first book, "AGirl and Her Pig," released in 2012.]
Q: How do you feel being one of thearchetypal chefs of your generation? A: Uncomfortable. First off, I'm a cook,not a chef. What a lot of people don't seeis I’ve been cooking for 24 years. I builtfoundations. I sacrificed. I’ve cut myselfand burned myself I've made mistakes.I’ve learned from them and grown. It’s thejob of a modern cook but not everyonegets the opportunity. I like the chance todo these things but at the end of the dayit’s about my restaurants. That’s mynumber one priority. Not the TV show orwhatever it is. I'm old fashioned that way.
Q: So any special dream in yourcrystal ball? A: Well I don’t know that I want to stop.I’m very happy I want to have my andown farm. Chickens, sheep and pig. I’dlove to go back to the roots and startgrowing. We haven't found a spot yet, butI’ve been looking. It comes back to that Ilike to learn. And when you stop learning,you stop growing. I still have a lot to learn.
Source: Bloomberg/Peter Elliot
April Bloomfield and Ken Friedman at work
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