Why That Per Se Review May Change Fine Dining Forever
"The lady had dropped her napkin. More accurately, she had hurled it to the floor in a fit of disillusionment,"The New York Times review of Per Se began, and every fine dining establishment shuddered.
In mid-January, Pete Wells, the Times' restaurant critic, demoted Thomas Keller's New York temple of haute cuisine from four stars to two and declared it "among the worst food deals in New York." Michelin stars matter less than ever, but stars from The New York Times, as decided by Wells, speak to how people want to dine now. He considers restaurants as singular experiences, critiquing them for how successfully they execute what they're trying to do and then assessing-often with brutal honesty-whether that aspiration is, in fact, relevant.
Even when it opened in 2004, Per Se recalled an older school of luxury. New York restaurants have been skewing casual since the early 2000s when David Chang's Momofuku empire-Noodle Bar and Ssam Bar primarily-paired ambitious food with less formal settings. But ten years later, it's not as if the ritzy restaurant is dead-the city's fine dining institutions like Eleven Madison Park, Del Posto, and Gramercy Tavern continue to thrive even as Daniel and Per Se lose their stars. And Keller certainly hasn't surrendered. He responded with the grace of a true industry leader two weeks ago, writing an open letter of apology to his guests and looking to the future, promising "We are not content resting on what we did yesterday."
Below, ten chefs and restaurateurs respond to the Per Se review and what it says about the future of dining culture.
MARK LADNER
Executive Chef, Del Posto, New York City
"When I saw the stars, I thought perhaps it was a mistake. I really believe that Per Se is one of the great examples of traditional haute style cuisine in America and to see them taken to task like that was shocking. There's really no one who can question Thomas Keller's commitment to his clientele, his restaurants, or his teams. But the review is a sign that a new era of fine dining is upon us. People prefer that the money they're spending be on the plate rather than in the ambiance or the decor. Casual-and-rustic is more popular now, where before it was pampered luxury. It happens in 20 year cycles. That's been going on for hundreds of years."
PAUL KAHAN
Executive Chef/Restaurateur, One Off Hospitality Group, Chicago
"When the review came out, everyone kind of went crazy, you know? But I don't think it means much. Places lose their focus from time to time. You have your off days. And a guy with a big set of balls like Pete Wells is going to say what he feels. I'm sure Per Se will be a better restaurant for it."
RENEE ERICKSON
Chef/Owner, Sea Creatures Restaurants & Boat Street Pickles, Seattle
"The food part of it I'm less interested in. The service part feels the harshest. I keep coming back to the word 'ungenerous.' Any restaurant that's worth anything wants to feel generous to their guests. That's the whole idea behind a restaurant in general. Or at least, it should be."
CAROLINE STYNE
Co-owner, Lucques, a.o.c., and Tavern in Los Angeles
"When I saw the price [of Wells's dinner] I gasped. What an enormous amount of money on a meal! Of course, it's expensive to do what they're doing, and no number is arbitrary. But if you're going to be charging the prices that they're charging, you've really got to shock and awe, because we're all spoiled by what we can get in a less expensive situation. There are so many fantastically talented chefs in tiny little corner stores or in midscale restaurants that don't have that fussy, old-school formality. The review definitely had an air of blasting this type of dining in general. Is this really what people want now? Is it really modern?"
DOMINIQUE CRENN
Chef/Owner, Atelier Crenn, San Francisco
"I would say it is a hipster review. You know, Per Se is not for everybody. Fine dining is not for everybody. But I'm concerned when people start to take sides in fine dining and casual dining. This is not right. We are a world that needs diversity in every sense of the word. It's important to be able to go onto the street and get something for $2 or go to a restaurant and have an experience."
GABRIEL STULMAN
Restaurateur, Happy Cooking Hospitality, New York City
"A system that has a five star rating-is that enough of a range to rate a place like Per Se? And on the opposite end of the spectrum, a place like Superiority Burger? Because I think it's natural and common for people to sit there and say, 'Boy, Per Se is a two star restaurant. What else is a two star restaurant?' Look, I own two restaurants that have two star ratings. I mean this with no disrespect to my own restaurants, but I think Per Se operates at a higher level than mine."
MICHAEL ANTHONY
Executive Chef, Untitled and Gramercy Tavern, New York City
"What people expect from a restaurant experience is genuine value. And that's at any price point. Money is only one of the metrics that we use to define value, but when the dollar signs rise, it becomes more and more difficult for the restaurant to achieve that goal. At the end of the day, if you can leave people with a genuine feeling of being taken care of, they'll never forget it. If you can create value- the way they see value-then it will be a lifelong memory."
NAOMI POMEROY
Chef/Owner, Beast and Expatriate in Portland, Oregon
"Seems to me like reviewers are struggling for readership, and more and more rather than being useful, they talk about things in tantalizing ways that conjure up strong emotions for readers. It's a little bit of a conflict of interest. If you're going to talk about something you ate at Per Se as being like bong water, you can't really see that as anything other than looking to rile people up. Like the price increase. I did the math, and [Per Se has had] about a $13 price increase every year since it opened, which is completely reasonable. The cost of food goes up every year, the cost of fuel, healthcare for staff-restaurants have no choice but to increase the price. But overall, if you take out the idea that he's price gouging or serving bong water, I thought there were some important points."
COREY LEE
Chef/Owner, Benu, San Francisco
"The New York Times is a publication with a circulation that's worldwide, but it's very much about New York. And New York has such a long history of fine dining. In San Francisco, we've been about a simple style of cooking for a long time, and in recent years there's been a growth of more ambitious restaurants. Sure, they might not be as opulent as restaurants that you might find in New York City, but the actual food that's being served is at a high level and very much in that fine dining genre because it uses special ingredients and a lot of technique, intricate preparations. Those are the things that qualify fine dining."
GABRIELLE HAMILTON
Chef/Owner, Prune, New York City
"Pete Wells has no fear. It's giddy-making. I admire the guy's formidable talent and the balls he has to undress an emperor. Because if the emperor is naked, someone should say so, right? Wells knows what it means when he says, 'This place has fallen.' He knows what's happened before. He can see what's happening now. He's not just reviewing restaurants, he's reflecting on the times. That's what's exhilarating about him. The problem is when he comes to your own restaurant."
