Chef David Chang sat down with esteemed New York magazine critic Adam Platt.
Chang explains the complicated relationship that exists between chefs and critics, saying that they don’t really communicate. However, there is a love-hate relation between the critic and chef, the restaurant and the media. So getting to interview one of the best, Chang explains was something of a challenging and ultimately rewarding experience.
Platt who has been reviewing restaurants for years is very open, about his admiration for chefs and the work they do as well as the right of chefs whose restaurant he has reviewed in the past to harbour resentment.
The world of fine dining has changed immeasurably form the old days when critics reviewed anonymously and chefs were hidden in the kitchen, now chefs are global stars with their own podcasts and wield their own power in the media.
In a wide-ranging conversation the art of food criticism, to Wylie Dufresne’s molecular gastronomy, Alain Ducasse in New York and how a new generation and social media changed the food landscape in new work.
A fascinating exchange of ideas that ultimately reveals that chefs and critics are not too dissimilar. While the balance of power has very much swung in the chefs’ favour of late there is still a prominent place set for the critic at the Chef’s table.