It seems these days as if celebrity chefs are taking on the trappings of their fellow celebrities. Gradually in the 20 or so years since Emeril Lagasse, Sara Moulton and the Food Network came on the scene, they have become more celebrity than chef. They are being interviewed by the gossip columnists who follow them as they adopt the celebrity lifestyle and vacation in the Hamptons or Maui or Lake Como or Newport.
Recently, an interviewer caught up with chef and restaurateur David Burke, who can be counted among the regional chefs of our area. His David Burke Prime Steakhouse at Foxwoods Resort and Casino, in Connecticut, is still earning top reviews in this post-steakhouse era. Although the restaurant still bears his name, Burke parted ways with the company that runs it back in 2015. He was in the Hamptons to judge a restaurant competition, the likes of which was being held in Providence back in the early 2000s – Hamptons chefs versus New York City chefs, with winners determined by the paid attendees who were there to eat and drink on a July night. Burke was interviewed, as were the other celebrity chef judges. One question posed to the chef and his answer went beyond the bon vivant spirit of a summer night.
The interviewer asked Burke to name one mistake many chefs make. The answer was telling. It gave an insight into the philosophy and the work ethic of a successful entrepreneur. He said too many chefs do not experience their own restaurant from the guest’s perspective. He went on to detail what could be learned from the exercise. Interestingly, the food was not mentioned first. His first concern was his guest’s comfort – was the air conditioning blowing on someone, was the dining room noisy. He explained it was important for the chef to eat his or her own food under the lighting at the tables or the bar and not just the glare of the kitchen lights. As he put it: “You need to see it the way the customer experiences it.”
This was a great question. It could be posed in a few different ways. It could be a time-travel exercise – advice that an accomplished, experienced chef would give to his or her younger self. It could be a “Shark Tank” moment, where a promising novice on the way up could benefit by the advice of those who have established patterns of success. I posed the question to some successful local chef-restaurateurs.
Domenic Ierfino, who has been a Federal Hill success story with Roma since the early ’80s, had this to say: “My advice would be [a chef starting out would] need to be passionate and dedicated to this profession. You must be ready to give up your time, get ready to miss out on a lot of holidays and family occasions. It takes a very courageous and brave person to enter this sometimes-crazy profession. You are either going to love it or hate it.”
[caption id="attachment_221363" align="alignright" width="221"]
READY TO SERVE: Ted Karousos, proprietor of the Blue Plate Diner in Middletown, welcomes guests.
/ PBN PHOTO/BRUCE NEWBURY[/caption]
The demands on family time were echoed on my radio show by Ted Karousos, proprietor of the Blue Plate Diner in Middletown. Karousos has a unique perspective on family life in the restaurant business, having literally grown up in his family’s restaurants, the beloved and long-departed Sea Fare Inn in Portsmouth and Abbey Grill in Fall River, which is still in operation under different ownership.
Others advised an investment of time of as long as 10 years before going out on one’s own as a chef-owner, stating it takes a similar amount of time to become a chef as it does to become a doctor.
Here is an opportunity for chefs, celebrity and otherwise, to gain recognition in another favorite food category – chowder. The SouthCoast Chamber of Commerce is recruiting restaurants and food vendors for the 13th annual New Bedford Seaport Chowder Festival on Oct. 7. Applications to participate are available at southcoastchamber.com/chowderfest. An estimated 2,500 people attend annually. The People’s Choice Awards are decided by the votes of the attendees while the Judge’s Choice Awards will be decided by a panel of four local “foodies.”
Bruce Newbury’s Dining Out radio talk show is heard Saturdays at 11 a.m. on 1540 AM WADK, through various mobile applications and via smart speaker. Email Bruce at Bruce@brucenewbury.com.
