KITCHEN CONFIDENTIAL Adventures in the Culinary Underbelly

(Chris Devlin) #1

much."


Is it all about the food with this guy? I don't know. Scott likes to refer to
himself as a cook, and when he says, about another chef, "He's a good
cook," it's the highest praise he can offer.


Sopping up free martinis at the Veritas bar, I asked Gino whether he
thought Scott was in it for the food or for the lifestyle. It gave him pause.


"I don't know." He seemed clearly troubled by the question. "I mean, I
think he likes the lifestyle. A guy who comes in and hangs around on his
day off, you know he's got to like the lifestyle. And he loves going out
after work with cooks and chefs for drinks . . . you know." He paused and
thought about the question again. "But . . ."


Gino is another example of "everything I just told you is wrong". Here's
a guy who was in the home fuel oil business, with zero restaurant
experience, who became partners with a couple of guys for a lark at the
then vegetarian Chelsea bistro, Luma. When things began to lose their
charm, he bought out the partners and began spending all his time at the
restaurant, learning the business from the ground up. "I was supposed to
be a silent partner!" Looking around for a chef, a waiter who had worked
for fishmongers-to-the-stars, Wild Edibles, told him, "Scott Bryan is
available."


"I met with him at a coffee shop. He looked at the menu and said, "No
vegetarian. That's gotta go." I said, 'Fine!' Scott said maybe he'd
consult."


"He came in, started working, changing things, months go by . . . six
months! I look at my wife and she looks at me: 'Is he consulting? Is he
staying?' I kept asking him: 'Scott, can we make a deal?' Finally, one day
he says, 'Well . . . I think I will stay.'"

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