Last week when it was reported that Alain Ducasse said London had surpassed New York as “the most important city in the world for restaurants,” our commenter Got One More wrote, “Ducasse is just bitter. He got dissed by NYC every time he opened a restaurant here. Or at least he thinks so. He’ll probably do better in London, competition is not on NY level, and he’ll gather more stars, so he needs to puff himself up.” Today in the Post, Steve Cuozzo (who has previously hammered Ducasse for talking back to critics and being absent from his restaurants) says more or less the same.
Ducasse’s put-down of NYC sounds like payback for our failure to love him … He has another reason for sucking up to London at our expense. The Michelin Guide just anointed his Dorchester Hotel venue — which had previously gotten by on a mere two stars — with three. He’d love to see the place draw more genuine locals in addition to the vagabonding sheiks and oligarchs who fill seats at his priciest establishments.
Cuozzo suggests Ducasse win our hearts by mingling with the hoi polloi at the actually pretty good Benoit more: “Hang out at the handsome Deco-style bar. Show up in the dining room often enough to give customers a thrill. They’ll forget about Mix and the Essex House — and maybe even forgive your newly Anglicized outlook.”
Alain vs. NYC [NYP]
Earlier: Oh No He Didn’t: Alain Ducasse Says London Is Most Important Restaurant City
