Lavinia's

[Alton Lady]

Originally Posted by brk-lnt

For what it's worth, I didn't think your initial message that set off this storm was all that bad. In fact, I found it kind of helpful.

For my wife and I, we enjoy trying new places. I've been to several 5 diamond places, and a ton of ghetto joints that would scare many people away. Much of it is "setting expectations". If a restaurant is billing themselves as having an "Executive Chef", I'm going to set my minimal expectations higher than maybe some place that doesn't call attention to the kitchen staff, or lists "Head Cook", or "Head Chef", etc.

I understand the perspective of titles being earned, but from the angle of the guy eating there, it's all about the food. If a 10 year old prodigy can hook up some foie gras and sweet breads like nobodies business, then I'm not going to question them being presented to the diners as an "Executive Chef" on the restaurant menu or whatever (yes, they might not have the business sense of a "true" exec chef, but as the diner, I don't care about that).

So, if someone wants to call themselves the executive chef they are, IMO, setting a higher level of customer expectation. If they can deliver on that expectation, then I have no issues. But, if they're still perfecting their craft, it might be wise to tone down the titles and leave a little more margin for error in a sense.

What set off this storm, at least in my opinion, is Mr. Weiss' poor judgement (intentions??) in posting on this thread. He did not simply explain the duties of an executive chef, he demeaned the abilities of the new chef/owner of Lavinias in an arrogant and offensive manner. And then he thanks a poster for stating that the poster doesn't care about titles, they just want good food. Then why the post in the first place? Mr. Weiss also posted on his own businesses thread that he wants criticism instead of guest leaving mad, yet he thanks a poster on the Ellacoya thread who stated they visited Ellacoya, were not acknowledged, and left. I see no good intentions from this man, only a pathetic attempt to further his business by harming the reputations of his competition. Having seen this in my business, I have no respect for his kind. By the way, the following may be of interest to Mr. Weiss

http://www.unionleader.com/article/2...50/1015/news13