Frederic Robert — pastry chef extradordinaire — co-author of Alain Ducasse Desserts, and the man who was most responsible for putting the Wynn/Encore pastry/bread/chocolate/desserts on the world’s culinary map, had his last day at the patisserie stoves last Friday.
ELV has no idea what’s going on over at Wynn/Encore…but at this point we’ve asked the good p.r. folks over there to give us a list of every great chef who has, or is about to be canned or shoved aside, so as to make all this bad news easier on our tender psyche.
Because this is like being nibbled to death by minnows….
Whoa! That’s big and very sad news indeed. Wynn/Encore must be in very big trouble given the enormity of its recent departures.
Haiku 4 U:
surprising? well, no
Wynn bites the heads off all truth
sayers, does he not?
Probably refused to make Tofu creme patissiere
What in the hell is going on over there?
No fear friends
Jennifer whitte, pastry chef from the aforementioned soon to close Alex, will be appointed to head up the Wynn pastry program, along with Fredric’s assistant Pierre ( don’t recall his last name, something froggy I assume)
Alex may soon be gone, but stratta is still there, let’s hope they can strike unpin agreement to keep him at the stoves there
ELV responds: Has a clue (who usually has a least a little one) couldn’t be more off base. Robert is a world class talent, and, as such, not easily replaceable. Furthermore, we have nothing against Chef JWhitte, but ALEX’s pastries have always been the weakest part of the restaurant. Something ELV and others have mentioned over the years. (Does he eat there or just watch from the sidelines?)
And as much as we love Alex Stratta, the restaurant Stratta has been positioned as a food factory for conventioneers, and cannot be taken seriously as his venue of choice.
Wynn/Encore better be ready to take the bad with the good (publicity-wise). It got a lot of hype (and support) from food lovers for its commitment to quality (and great chefs), and now that it’s trimming its sails, expect the fur to fly. (Any other metaphors you want me to mix?)
I would be surprised if they put Witte above Pierre on the food chain. He is a MUCH more talented pastry chef.
no need to get pissy!!!!!
You sure about this one, Curtis? Or did you report this one w/o fact checking like the Hopcraft news and most of your book?