Selected Archives
Selected stories 2011-2021
Some interesting things from Bauscher China are catching our eye lately. Stay tuned for more on this. Bauscher has been doing china right for restaurants and hotels for a long, long time. You can see the entire line of Bauscher China by going to: http://www.bauscherinc.com/
There have been a great number of hotel/restaurant quality bone china introductions of late. Seems like everyone .... except maybe Lodge Manufacturing...now has a bone china line. Some of them are truly spectacular and will no doubt elevate the overall category quality. But the one bone china line that remains at the head of the class is Wedgwood's (from Oneida) Othello shape. Most readers here know that we feel that decorated china - even simple lines of color or metallics - are preferable rather than plain, undecorated white plates. That said....if you HAVE to have white china....then, Othello is perhaps the one to have. It's simple, thin shape and graceful lines make it easy on the eye and the low tea cup (shown above) says elegance in every way possible. And, the other piece of good new....it is brought to the hospitality trade here in America by the good folks at Oneida. We've spoken lately about how Oneida is strengthening its organization and making it more customer-centric. Well, all that's true. But, what helps make it possible for Oneida to do all of this is the fact that they've got great products like Othello.
Still at the head of the class. Well done. See all the Oneida and Wedgwood products for foodservice by going to: http://foodservice.oneida.com/ This 11" plate from Revol's Bistro & Co collection is one of three pieces that have a Basalt glaze on the outer portion surrounding a contrasting a "cast iron looking" glaze center area. Bistro & Co. has a wide array of serving similar serving pieces in Revol's classic white glaze, including this 11" plate. Revol Porcelain's Bistro & Co collection continues to raise the standard for culinary porcelain with its "cast iron looking" porcelain pieces that have the Michelin 3-star touch of Anne Sophie Pic in their development. You will remember that Revol has a long history of working with another 3 star Michelin chef, Regis Marcon. So, the folks at Revol know a thing or two about high standards. While the Bistro & Co collection pieces are mostly white with just 3 pieces that have the 2 colors: Basalt on the outside and the “cast iron style” on the center (see below). Seems it is a Basalt body (black porcelain all the way through, non-glazed) and the center portion only is glazed with a new type of glaze that looks like cast iron, yet is as light as you expect high quality porcelain to be. Revol's Bistro & Co collection is meant to meet the practical demands of the restaurant business. Durable in service, able to withstand high temperatures, ergonomic, and certainly dishwasher safe. Completely interchangable for creativity and individual style, Bistro & Co's combination of white and cast-iron looking pieces provide a classic bistro look, yet a new, evolved, contemporary look. Revol Porcelain continues to surprise and amaze. And, while we see imitators from all over occasionally appearing on the scene, we know that for professionals who want to work with the very best....they choose Revol.
Stocked here in the U.S. at their headquarters near Atlanta, you can see the entire line of Revol Porcelain by going to: http://www.revol-porcelaine.fr/ Our old friend, designer Adam Tihany is at it again. Adam now has been hired as the art director for The Culinary Institute of America and will advise them on the design of capital projects and renovations, as well as the overall image of the college’s campus in Hyde Park, N.Y.
Adam has designed many of the world’s great restaurants and hotel projects including Jean Georges, Le Cirque 2000, Per Se and Daniel in New York, Bouchon, One&Only Cape Town Resort, Mandarin Oriental Las Vegas, and many others. He is also well known for his lighting, dinnerware, and cigar ashtray designs for well known brands such as Villeroy and Boch, Christofle, and Schowald Porcelain. Of course, the Culinary Institute of America the premier culinary school as an independent, not-for-profit college for culinary arts, with baking and pastry arts and wine and beverage studies and campuses in New York, California, Texas and Singapore. To learn more about Adam Tihany and his design firm, go here: http://www.tihanydesign.com/ To learn more about The Culinary Institute of America, go here: http://www.ciachef.edu/ Ok....being a curious guy, I went and tried to find this hot new place. Armed with an address and being pretty familiar with Washington....I found the address 922 N St. NW. But, looking around there is nothing except a chained in yard and an alley.
Then, waaay down at the end of the alley, I see a little activity with a few delivery guys and a truck (you can see the tailgate in the lower right of the picture). I walk 50-70 yards down the alleyway and ....lo and behold - voila! The soon to be famous Rogue 24 appears. Or, at least I believe it to be as I see someone in chef's whites quickly scoot inside like he's late for work. Other than this chef, I found nobody else (unless you count the delivery guys) to speak to. Being on my way to another meeting, I snapped a quick photo and was on my way to my meeting. I absolutely love this......I'm serious. What could be better? Advance publicity says 24 courses, culinary artisans not chefs, on the upper ends of price....not easy to find (I would almost say hard to find)....no sign outside, at least as of yet. Beautiful. No doubt Rogue 24 will be a huge success. QUESTION: What is it that you know is going to cost you a lot...has a huge menu.....but you won't know what you're getting until it's over....and is from our nation's capitol? ANSWER: No, no...not Obama-care.....it's Chef R.J. Cooper's new restaurant Rogue 24, which is opening next week. Actually...I'm guessing that Rogue 24 will be a whole lot more enjoyable than a healthcare bill and maybe even last a little longer. We're not a restaurant review publication (we'll leave that to the pros), but I think this type of restaurant concept is very interesting. A little bit like a private club or "speak-easy". Chef/Owner Cooper has the quite a lengthy and impressive culinary pedigree, but thats not what's interesting, so let me give you a few pieces of information about Rogue 24:
- it's located down an alley, in a "off the tracks" type location, meaning you have to know it's there to find it; - the building housing Rogue 24 is an old garage that's been re-done in "minimalist" fashion; - guests will be getting a 24 course meal, and will not get the menu until after the meal is done; - a 16 course "progression" is also available for $100 ($145 with beverages); - chefs at Rogue 24 are referred to as artisans, who will create their "art" in the middle of the dining room, evidently; - the 24 course meal will cost $120 or $175 with beverages that are selected especially for that meal; - the 52 seat restaurant is sold out for their opening week (week of July 27th) already; Now....with such creativity put into the overall concept....I am curious to find out about their thoughts on what Rogue 24 intends to serve its meals or its wines in. This could be a great opportunity to re-inforce the overall branding of the Rogue 24 concept. With such emphasis on "crafting" meals and beverages (evidently to be initally crafted at a cocktail station and then "finished tableside" according to their website), it would seem appropriate that a great deal of thought and consideration has gone into the vessels from which guest will partake. Actually, I love the concept and wish Chef Cooper and his "artisans" much success. Is this the future of foodservice in D.C.? We shall see....but for the moment, hats off to them for their creativity and trying something out of the ordinary. In the meantime, go by their website and take a look....and book your reservation soon! http://rogue24.com/ Last week, I waxed eloquently about Churchill China's new catalog and how amazing it is. Plenty of amazing things inside, as well. Things like Churchill's new Theatre Bowls, from their Art de Cuisine MENU line. I really like the idea that someone has, once again, considered dining out as theater or entertainment. It's "showtime" every time a restaurant opens its doors and these new Churchill bowls will definitely enhance yout performance! Theatre Bowls, come with lids (and they offer replacement lids, just in case!) and in three perfect sizes from 11 3/8" down to 7 1/2" so they can be used to serve family-style or for individual service, depending upon the menu item. The early reviews are in .....and Churchill's new Theatre bowls are a hit! For the moment however, with all the summer heat.....I'm looking for Churchill's new Just Desserts bowls and the ice cream to fill them!
Have you gotten your copy of the new Churchill catalog yet? Go here to see the new items from Churchill online: http://www.churchillchina.com/ Are you wow blind?
Kevin asked me: "Do ‘great ideas’ possess universally some sort of Wow Factor?" The problems with this question: What does 'great' mean? And who decides what 'wow' is? The challenge is this: lots of people think they know what both words mean in their area of endeavor, and many of them are wrong. Consider the case of web 2.0 companies. People like Brad Feld and Fred Wilson are brilliant at understanding what wow means from the point of view of an investor. They have great taste about what's going to pay off. They have a sense for which teams and which ideas will actually turn into great businesses. The peanut gallery at tech sites, though, don't have such great abilities (if they did, they'd be Brad, not anonymous voters). As a result, they mistake consumer wow for investor wow, and often focus on the wrong attributes when they're criticizing or congratulating a company. This is endemic in the book business, which resolutely refuses to understand the actual P&L of most of the books it publishes. As a result, there are plenty of editors who continue to overpay for the wrong books, because their wow isn't the market's wow. In his book Money Ball, Michael Lewis wrote about how virtually every single scout and manager in baseball was wrong about what makes a great baseball player. They had the wrong radar, the wrong wow. When statistics taught a few teams what the real wow was, the balance of power shifted. By definition, just about every great idea resonates early with those that have better radar than those that don't. The skill, then, is to expose yourself often enough, learn enough and fail enough that you get to say wow before the competition does. Even more Seth: http://sethgodin.typepad.com/ There's some pretty clever - and Smart - stuff going on down in Alabama these days. Take a look at these...... Clever folks at Smart Buffet Ware call these things "Treasure Stands"......I'd call them just plain cool. Don't you think these would be great for outside patios, cocktail parties, receptions, and more? Perfect for caterers....and creative chefs everywhere. Great tabletop comes in all different forms. Check out all the Smart things these folks have by going to: http://smartbuffetware.com/
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