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Celebrity chef mega-branding is now just icing on the
blueberry, lemon-infused cheesecake, writes Melanie Tam.
Their Michelin-starred names are everywhere: on the restaurants
where they earned the stars, on their diffusion chains of
bistros, in the aisles of the supermarkets, on TV and in bookstores.
Once upon a time they were seen as harbingers of the new,
the daring, the different. Like the Woodstock- era lovechild
who traded his free-love hippie ethos for a seat on the board
of a Fortune 500 company, these trendsetters of the culinary
world have found new levels of fame and fortune outside of
the scope of the true gourmand.
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The original Spago, where celebrity chef Wolfgang Puck launched
California Cuisine, was firmly the ultimate Hollywood celebrity
eatery; Puck chose to close the Sunset Strip location in 2001
when it became over-run by tourists. But his designer pizzas
and pastas were in such demand, Puck struck on an idea: celebrity-
chef packaged food While opening other restaurants –
Granita, Chinois on Main, more Spagos, and a chain of Wolfgang
Puck California Cafes — Puck has built a US$300 million
empire. One can now cook Puck food while following along in
a Puck cookbook, using Puck pots and pans.
It might have begun with the cookbook craze. Chefs were getting
book deals and their faces became familiar to anyone who could
log onto Amazon. But chefs giving away their recipes is a
risky business — unless you start packaging the products
needed to make these “signature dishes.” (Puck’s
website currently boasts more than 700 recipes.)
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Once described as the “enfant terrible of French cooking,”
Jean-Georges Vongerichten made his name at the Lafayette in
New York’s Drake hotel. Offering daring takes on classic
French food to dazzling acclaim, he opened Jo Jo’s with
paper tablecloths and a studied lack of pretentiousness. (Puck
did this too: the original Spago had wire-mesh outdoor chairs
while charging US$30 for a pizza.) While thumbing his nose
at convention, Vong has created 10 restaurants and also published
cookbooks. “I'm not trying to be McDonald's in any stretch
of the imagination,” he said, while going on to describe
the various infused vinegars and sauces sold under his name
through gourmet mecca Williams-Sonoma.
Across the Atlantic, Alain Ducasse gives his American-based,
European-born counterparts a literal run for their money.
In a race to see who can expand the fastest, Ducasse is offering
Puck serious competition. Aside from his gourmet eateries
in Paris, Monaco and New York, he has second-tier eateries
like Beige in Tokyo, Mix in Las Vegas, and eatin or take-away
chain concept BE, which is short for boulangépicier,
or bakery/grocery. Then there is Spoon by Alain Ducasse, of
which there are five. There are no fewer than 12 cookbooks
– one running longer than 1,000 pages and weighing 5.2
kg – and counters in the eateries where diners can purchase
Ducasse products. He has also signed three lucrative sponsorship
deals.
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On the other side of the world, it is interesting to watch
Nobu Matsuhisa. His black cod in miso has been a favourite
since he launched Matsuhisa in Los Angeles in 1987, and now,
with nine restaurants to his name and a tenth opening above
Spoon by Alain Ducasse in the culinary-minded InterContinental
Hong Kong hotel, he has firmly reached super-chef status.
He is also the only chef named here who has shilled for non-food,
non -kitchen related items: Nobu did a celebrity endorsement
deal with Callaway golf clubs.
Who will be next? Will it be El Bulli’s genius, Ferran
Adria? His creations are so inspirational, they moved more
than 400,000 eaters to request reservations during his six-month
cooking season last year. Speculators caution Adria against
traversing the slippery slope of expansion. Unless, like Vongerichten,
his goal is to “have a little hotel in Southeast Asia
with about 10 rooms. Only friends will stay there and nobody
will pay!”
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