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Not Molecular Gastronomy
Jay Rayner gives background on his knowledge of Wylie prior to the show, and his argument with James Oseland.
June 16, 2009The last time I saw Wylie Dufresne, prior to this week’s show, he was leading his brigade in a charge out of the kitchen, to take on a stroppy Wall Street jerk who was giving the sommelier at his restaurant some grief. It was a peculiar but very Wylie sight, his long hair trailing behind him in the draft. The moment came at the end of an equally peculiar evening in which I had conducted a high-end restaurant crawl through Manhattan’s greatest restaurants – Jean Georges, Per Se, Bouley, Eleven Madison finishing with dessert at Wylie’s wd~50 – for my book, The Man Who Ate The World. In the book I described him as looking "like a cross between an Alabama backwoods man limbering up to shout ‘squeal little piggy,’ and a computer nerd," and I can do no better now. The passionate and fiery Wylie I met then, is the one we met on tonight’s episode, cussing and cursing his way through the vending machine challenge at what he perceived to be the way he had let himself down.
(Climb inside these brackets for a moment. Just before we were due to start shooting we were asked to list any relationship or experiences we might have had with any of the competing chefs. Although I knew almost all of them by reputation, there were only two: Wylie and Douglas Rodriguez who, one night in London a few years back, offered to take me outside and kick ten tons of crap out of me because I had once called him "gastronomically illiterate"
in a review. Touchy people, chefs. As it happened, he was a competitor on one of the two shows my Visa problems kept me from being involved with, and Gail Simmons got to critique him. Shame.)
Intriguingly, on paper, tonight’s two challenges – the vending machine, and the Lost challenge, which required the use of canned and bottled goods – should have favoured both Wylie and Graham Elliot Bowles. Both of them are fascinated by those sorts of ingredients but, while, they did well, it was not to be. Their presence did, however, lead to some interesting critic-on-critic action. Gael Greene said from the very start that she had no time for the
kind of food Wylie made calling it "chemical," which is just cobblers. All cookery is basically chemistry; people like Wylie simply engage with that. But it seemed bizarre to me that a critic should claim a dislike for a whole genre of the culinary arts on principle. To be fair though, she did accept that Wylie’s dish worked. And I’m sure she thought some of my views ridiculous.
Meanwhile, James and I had a baby backstage row over the use of the phrase Molecular Gastronomy. You may recall that at one point Wylie tried to dismiss it as being less than helpful — as indeed it is. It means absolutely nothing. A couple of years ago the men most associated with it – my countryman Heston Blumenthal at the Fat Duck and Spain’s Ferran Adria of El Bulli – issued a statement, with others, declaring the term dead. You can read it
here. Even so James still wanted to use it in his summation. I said it would make us look, well, silly. It’s great to be paid to argue with people. In the end the phrase was used, but not by James.
As to the Lost challenge, it was clearly a lot of fun, but mostly because of the choice of guest judges. What the production needed from people invited along to help us critique was noise and views. And frankly you can’t do better than a bunch of the writers from one of the top-rated network shows. Because that’s exactly what they do for a living: every day they go to work, sit in a room together, and try to be funnier than each other and cleverer than each other, and noisier than each other. Give them free food as well and, hell, the challenge is to shut them up.
Carlton Cuse, Damon Lindelof, and their team more than sang for their supper. They pretty much tap-danced for it too. And what a supper it was: not just Wylie’s superlative chicken - when I got some – but Graham’s kicking take on a salad Nicoise, and Suzanne’s fabulous uni risotto. Elizabeth’s braised boar? Not so much, but then you can’t win ‘em all.
Next week it’s truly gutsy stuff, which makes me very happy indeed, because I’m a gutsy man. You’ll see what I mean.
Jay Rayner is the author of The Man Who Ate The World, published now in paperback by Henry Holt.
Hmmm...I just saw an Australian cooking show where a chef deconstructed peas (pureeing them to shapeless mush) only to drop them into a clear "magical" liquid, resulting in small green spheres that looked like...peas. It's an extreme example, but maybe this type of pretension is what turns Gael off when it comes to M.G. (or whatever the correct term for it is). I'm not sure it's fair to criticize her as close minded for simply disliking MG after she's given it a fair go. Yes, we all get it...at one point, even using an oven could have been considered cutting-edge MG. But, IMO, it sounds like she's not really objecting to the method/technology of cooking, but to the resulting dish that MG'ists tend to produce. To some, a steak that's acutally a deconstruced chicken may be humorous & fun. To others, it may be impersonal or lack soul. In the end, she is entitled to her opinion and, in fact, is paid for it. I don't think that makes her close minded or an unfair judge.
I'm chiming in too...make Rayner permanent on the regular TC! His critiques are good and he could definately hold his own w/ Colicchio, Gail or Tom.
Jay,
Between here and eGullet I'm enjoying you being part of the show. I think you bring a level head to the judging and your right Gael Greene passing off a part of the culinary arts on principal is just down right ludicrous. But it shows how some people are just set in there ways, and nothing you can do can change that.
If she truly dislikes that form of cooking, would it mean she'd spurn people like Wylie, not to mention Grant Achatz of Alinea and whom I think is the "god father of such things - Ferran Adria (whom I've seen you interview).
Keep up the great work Mr. Rayner.
Thanks for all your nice comments so far.
Gullwing - if you have a look you'll see I've written four novels so far. One of them, Eating Crow, is certainly still available in the US.
All the best
Jay
Hello Rayner,
You were unknown to me before this show and now I am totally a fan. You really should consider writing fiction because you have the writer's gift of story telling.
I wish you were on Top Chef permanently, or more often. You're judgement is spot on. It is more intriguing to have a critic be able to communicate in a way that ratchets up the show to a higher elevation, not just your ordinary top chef show.
So, alas, give some thought to taking some time away from your restaurant to entertain the masses.
Cheers!
I just watched you roll your eyes at that French chef that I keep laughing at, hearing him say "Don't tell me how to KOOK!" He's so full of S H I T! Excuse my French.
I WOULD LOVE TO SEE THESE SUPER-TALENTED PEOPLE BE THE CHEFS THEY ARE--WITHOUT THE GIMICS OF THIS PROGRAM. I DO MISS TC--AND I THINK JAY WOULD BE AN EXCELLENT REPLACEMENT FOR BOTH TOBY AND GAIL. BRING BACK PADMA!
I am not a big blogger. Actually, this is my second written blog to date. I am a new fan of the show and I have to comment about something that disturbed me a little outside of the chicken missing on the plate last week. I felt Wylie's intense need for excess profanity was either a competition for Joe Pesce's role in Good Fellas or I was accidentally watching an episode of "Hell's Kitchen". As much as I like Gordon Ramsey and respect his show. I was little bothered that Wylie would let his emotions get the best of him in this competition. A little too hard on himself. Maybe a secret chef issue I guess. Not necessary. Still a fan, can't wait for next week. Another Chicago chef I am routing for...bring it on Rick Bayless!
To all of the fans lamenting the loss of the original TC, I believe that this version is not a replacement, it's more of a special edition. If I remember correctly, TC usually airs in the late fall/early winter? It may seem it has been forever since we have seen the bromance of Fabio and Stephan, but if there is only one season per year, we have a bit to wait, but it will be back, with Tom, Padma, hopefully Gail, Ted, some Bourdain, and no Toby. (I get the feeling that even Tom does not understand Toby's critiques! If a new critic is necessary, I think that Jay Rayner would work so much better than Toby). TC will be back!!
What was with Wylie asking the other chefs opinions on everything? Can he not make a decision on his own? Does he do that in his own restaurant?
I admit to not being familiar with you beforehand but I'm enjoying your take on each episode, and thankx for taking the time to blog and give us some insight as well. I'm loving the series so far. As for the "molecular gastronomy" phrasing, I'm not a fan of that wording myself. It sounds more medical than "foodie".
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