Really? One well know food blogger and gourmand seems to think so. I don’t think that he should be in the top 10,000.
Seems like you hate the style Gary. It is not my favorite, and it can be overdone, but I’m probably more inclined to like the mole. gastro stuff than most. There might be some doubt as to whether the specialists have the chops to do other styles well as at times it seems to be heavy on conceptualization and assembly rather than classical understanding of simple flavors. I don’t think Wylie Dufresne is necessarily a great chef. Even though I’m part Dufresne. If I had to rank, he isn’t in my top 20 American chefs, but I’d imagine he’s in the top 100.
I was surprised to here someone in the Hanni thread say that Dufresne is “THE mole. gastro guy” as if he was the originator. He picked up on what quite a few people did before him.
I know I expected a good showing when he was on Top Chef Masters and he did pretty bad both times. I have not, however, eaten any of his food.
Top ten in the world probably not. Top ten in the U.S. yes.
I say this because of the universal respect he gets from other chefs. And even if you do not like molecular gastronomy he is still incredibly talented and knowledgeable.
If you are a Jazz fan but don’t like fusion (which many don’t) you would still have to put Miles Davis in the top 10 for his talent and other work.
Clearly not for his outspoken opinion of the other great players. Have ever read his Downbeat Blindfold test responses?
I would think that the vast majority of people who are closer to the subject would disagree with you.
I have to disagree. I can certainly think of ten other us chefs who are more relevant right now. Don’t confuse friendship with respect. Chefs like to hang together and it doesn’t mean he is their equal.
He is not even a top ten chef in NYC.
I kind of like the guy and am kind of drawn to mole. gastro. Cracking the U.S. top ten is tough, expecially if one requires the chef to be judged outside their micro-niche. Maybe we need a best chef in the US thread.
The opinion of one’s peers is telling. But how exactly does one measure that or gauge whether that makes the chef top 10 vs top 30?
Again, I’m willing to bet that the vast majority of the respected personalities in the food world would disagree with you. It’s clear that you don’t like the molecular gastronomy type of cooking that he does and frankly, it’s not my thing either, but that doesn’t change facts.
Not sure we have any facts to change. A bunch of silly parlor tricks with food doesn’t make you a top ten chef or any kind of chef for that matter. But it does get you talked about and on TV. So there you have it.
I have no opinion as I’ve never eaten there. That’s not my point. What makes him a top ten ? Industry influence ? Number of restaurants ? Moving the cuisine in a new direction maybe ? How is this measured. I’m sure he’s the bees knees and his food is good. I’m just saying to be considered a top ten chef you have to have some reach.
So then name me ten more influential chef’s in NYC? Granted I haven’t thought about this for more than 7 or 8 seconds, but he’s probably in the top ten
Not sure I see the point. If I name them you will say, probably correctly so, that it’s just a list of chefs that I prefer. But if you have some list that names him a top ten and it was from an independent, totally anonymous poll that would be interesting. And shocking. I guess I would put him in front of Michel Richard though.
Daniel Boulud
Eric Ripert
David Chang
Jean George V
Mario Batali
These 5 no brainers. Then you could start listing restaurants that are generally considered above WD. Per Se, Lincoln.
Gary can I ask the source on this ?
Sure. Not sure what you are asking for?
WD is not a top-10 chef in my book. I’ve eaten at his place at least half a dozen times over the years, and while it’s always an interesting meal, it’s never been – to me – a great meal. I do find that WD-50 has always provided excellent service, and good and interesting wine and cocktail lists. But it’s not top echelon to me. I haven’t yet been to Alder, but I’m interested to try it.
Who proclaimed Wylie a top ten chef.
Someone pointed this thread out to me. Whether or not you consider Wylie a top 10 chef in NYC (or anyplace else for that matter) is a function of how you define best. If you define it as someone who cooks food that is delicious, he will probably not make that list. But if the criteria you use is how important he is as a chef, then there is an argument to be made that he is the most important chef in the U.S. And I say that even though I don’t particularly like his food.
When I visit a restaurant, the thing I am always looking for is did the chef develop the techniques that they are using. And the truth is, American chefs generally do not create the techniques they use, and have usually copied what European and Japanese chefs have created. The only exception is Wylie. I spend a lot of time dining in Europe, and I find that techniques Wylie developed a decade ago are still showing up in European restaurants as “new techniques.” I can also tell you that he is the only US chef that European chefs copy, save for a sole example of Ferran Adria copying a technique from Homero Cantu.
In a recent interview I just did I was asked to name the greatest chefs in the world. I went through my usual list of seven (Passard, Gagnaire, Bras, Adria, Dacosta, Aduriz and Blumenthal) and then I said the only other person I would consider putting on that list is Wylie. But the problem is, while Wylie created techniques that are copied all over the world, he has never created a cuisine that would bring him the type of fame the others have achieved. Not sure if this settles anything but its a perspective that people should consider.