Ubuntu, Napa Valley. A Great Review!

Being in the restaurant business means being IN it. It means knowing other chefs and restaurateurs, cooks and waiters, managers and dishwashers. It means being part of a tree, through branches and root systems. It means competition but also comraderie. {I like a little competition, it means I get better. I want to be pushed. I push myself but that's not enough. I eat out and I pay attention to what other people I know or don't are doing with the same ingredients I get from the market, the produce company, etc.}

Being in the restaurant business is about being informed about what's going on in the industry at large, and most importantly: what's going on in your region. It means reading the paper, trade magazines, and the glossies. Knowing who is who, and who is doing what, and what is doing what to whom, and where who is doing what, and who is going where next and with whom-- all these variables are important.

I like to watch people move. Where do they go, who influences them, who works for whom before I do and so on. The industry is a small pool, in the end, of everyone who has worked for everyone else. Or slept with them. Or both.

When I did my stagiere at Manresa some time ago I had the honor and pleasure with working with Jeremy Fox, then Chef de Cuisine and his wife and partner, Deanie, the pastry chef. I had been invited into David's kitchen by him but then placed in Deanie's hands to work with her. Not every pastry chef would be ok with such an arrangement, made without her input, but Deanie was generous and professional, friendly and eager for input and we had a lot of fun and produced some beautiful desserts together.

In today's SF Chronicle Michael Bauer gave Ubuntu, the Fox's newest restaurant venture in Napa Valley, a glowing review. I read it furiously and then again, because I wanted to be sure I hadn't missed a morsel.

And then, following a courtesy and compliment I learned while working in the New York City restaurant scene, I called to say congratulations. {When reviews came out in the NY Times, fax machines went into overload as faxes were sent from all over the city.}

Restaurants hold their breath until their (local paper) review comes out. It's all we think and talk about until it's in print. And then when it comes, no matter how many stars, it's always a relief and a let down.

        The restaurant review is the first kiss after a long flirtation.

It's everything you hoped for, and you hope for more; you hope for the kiss getting better and better, more passionate and frequent, less I-had-to-hold-my-breath-for-that-one-moment, and more, I-can't-wait-for-another...

The review puts a restaurant on the map. It can breathe life into a struggling establishment or destroy one with fissures in its foundation. It helps bring in the diners, but it can't guarantee success. People eating there day after day, night after night, year after year, that's what pays the bills.

Next time I go to Napa, a visit to Ubuntu will be at the top of my list.

Congratulations Jeremy & Deanie! A review like this means hours and hours of tireless work, dreams made real, and a distraction-less dedication to that dream. It also means that we, as a populace, are becoming more open to appreciating food and plates, both in the sweet and savoury realm, that do not follow the same-ol same-ol principle. It's inspiring: their efforts and the validation the SF Chronicle brings.

Comments

[Richie]

great post...especially considering that your review is right around the corner. I wonder who will get theirs first, you or SPQR...