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All Posts Tagged: ‘johnny iuzzini’

NewsFeed

6/ 9/08

9:00 AM

James Beard Awards Justify Excessive After-Parties

We're going to need every drop of that Champagne at Bar Boulud.Photo: Josh Ozersky

The James Beard Awards were good to New York last night, which always means one thing – great after-parties. To no one's surprise, David Chang won Outstanding Chef–New York, but our city conquered three of the major national awards too, with Gramercy Tavern taking Outstanding Restaurant; Joe Bastianich and Mario Batali named Outstanding Restaurateur; and Gavin Kaysen of Café Boulud deemed Rising Star Chef. (Hopes for a fourth were dashed when Anthos lost to D.C.'s Central Michel Richard for Best New Restaurant.) The glee was in the air at the gala afterward, but even more so at the three after-parties we attended: a jam-packed affair at Bar Boulud, home of the largest bottle of Champagne we've ever seen; an after-after-party at Eleven Madison Park with everyone from Thomas Keller to Tuscan party animal Cesare Casella; and an after-after-after-party at Gramercy Tavern, where the normally sedate staff poured cocktails like there was no tomorrow. Which, in a sense, there wasn't. That heavy medallion with the bald man was a pass to vindication and euphoria for the New York restaurant community, at least for a night.

More: NewsFeed »bar boulud, cesare casella, daniel boulud, eleven madison park, george mendes, gramercy tavern, james beard awards, joe bastianich, johnny iuzzini, kevin mahan, mario batali, thomas keller

NewsFeed

5/ 7/08

11:00 AM

Chef Groupies Await Their Backstage Passes

From left, Johhny Iuzzini, Sam Mason, Sam TalbotPhotos: Patrick McMullan, Melissa Hom, Getty Images

They're sweaty, profane, covered with tattoos, and totally unavailable on both days and nights — what woman can resist that, right? Yes, chefs are the ultimate sex objects for a certain sort of girl, as a piece in this week's Time Out New York points out. But you knew that already, didn't you? Between our ongoing man-crush on Sam Mason to our outright mockery of Johnny Zs, we're helping feed the groupie phenomenon. (Even Alex Day, of Death & Co., told us, "I was almost a groupie of the bartenders" at the bar once.) Not everyone in the article buys it, however. Anne Burrell, who has fended off a few late-night Lotharios herself, finds the whole idea ridiculous: “I’m usually so focused on what I’m doing that I can’t imagine someone coming up while I’m expediting and asking if I want to go on a date. I’d probably just laugh.”

Go for Toques [TONY]
Related: Chefs Put on Something a Little More Comfortable

More: NewsFeed »anne burrell, chef objectification, chefs, johnny iuzzini, sam mason

Mediavore

5/ 7/08

10:00 AM

Wine Lovers Are Dupes, and Line-Waiting Foodies Are Sheep

• Are wine lovers just a bunch of easily duped snobs? [NYT]

• Some people love their Greenmarket produce so much that they’ll pose naked with it. [TONY]

• New Yorkers who wait in ridiculous lines for food are displaying a “sheep mentality.” [NYP]

More: Mediavore »chefs, culinary institute of america, greenmarket, johnny iuzzini, wine

Back of the House

4/24/08

6:12 PM

Departed Cheftestant Has a Few Words for Johnny Zs

Jennifer Biesty will soon open her own restaurant.Photo courtesy of Bravo

Last night on Top Chef, Jennifer Biesty got to return to San Francisco after the judges passed on her Ménage à Trois of Orange. Named a San Francisco Rising Star in 2007, Biesty currently cooks at Coco500. Our Michael Alan Connelly spoke to Biesty today and got the dirt on Johnny Iuzzini and the truth about co-cheftestant Richard Blais's haircut.

More: Back of the House »jennifer biesty, johnny iuzzini, top chef

NewsFeed

4/24/08

4:15 PM

Johnny Iuzzini, Calphalon Granter

When we first saw Johnny Zs on Top Chef last night, we were confused — is this late-night Cinemax? — but we soon realized the dual role the seductive pastry whiz was to play: guest judge and guest shill. The latter role isn't one that he seems too pleased by, though: If you watch this clip of him leaning randomly against two boxes of Calphalon pans, the poor fellow looks like he was just asked to subsist on Drake's cakes for a week. (It makes it even better that the pans were a prize for a tofu steak marinated in beef fat and that he was forced to say, "Here you go, guys," through gritted teeth.) [Note: the embedded video may not work with Internet Explorer.]

Here You Go, Guys: Quite Possibly the Single Greatest Product Shot in 'Top Chef' History [Best Week Ever]

More: NewsFeed »calphalon, johnny iuzzini, top chef

Back of the House

4/24/08

9:30 AM

Adam Platt Sees ‘Top Chef’ Slowly Unraveling

Smile all you want, but it won't help you at the judges' table.Photo courtesy Bravo

After a fairly straightforward dessert contest judged by Jean Georges' Johnny Iuzzini, last night's Top Chef episode took a turn for the bizarre with an Elimination Challenge inspired by the Second City improv company. Random colors and emotions were paired with ingredients, and the cheftestants ordered to improvise dishes like “yellow vanilla love” and “magenta drunken Polish sausage.” The results were predictably revolting, and we and Adam Platt settled in to discuss it immediately afterward with heavy hearts.

More: Back of the House »jean georges, johnny iuzzini, tom colicchio, top chef

NewsFeed

3/10/08

3:50 PM

What Goes on Behind Momofuku Ko's Closed Doors

For the record, you're supposed to stir this all up and eat it like the divine mess it's meant to be.Photo: Don Lee

While you wait with extremely bated breath for the Ko reservation Website to go live (don't go thinking the general public is going to eat in there anytime before Wednesday), a snapshot of what was going on behind the heavily armored doors, at least for a brief moment last night: Occupying some of the fourteen precious seats were New York's "sexiest chef" Johnny Iuzzini (and date), Shorty's.32 star Josh Eden (and date), and former Bloomberg critic and current GQ blogger Alan Richman with Time Out New York food editor Gabriella Gershenson (presumably not on a date). Every other minute, a curious passerby outside would stop and press his nose against the exterior's ornate metalwork and just awkwardly peer inside for 30 seconds, trying his hardest to see something through the obscured windows. It was pure shamelessness, New Yorkers gawking like tourists, but who could blame them? The place looks like a dungeon from the outside. And all that attention no doubt made the lucky few on the inside feel all the more special, like prized little angelfish in Chang's velvet aquarium. —Jessica Coen

More: NewsFeed »alan richman, david chang, gabriella gershenson, johnny iuzzini, josh eden, momofuku ko

NewsFeed

1/16/08

1:15 PM

Nicole Kaplan Leaves Del Posto

Nicole Kaplan: moving on again.Photo: Patrick McMullan

Major developments on the pastry front: Del Posto's head pastry chef, Nicole Kaplan, who soared to fame as the chef at Eleven Madison Park (and, incidentally, as the creator of the Shake Shack's custard), has left the restaurant. We had heard that it was to head the dessert program at the St. Regis Hotel or, possibly, one of its restaurants, but the hotel denies this. (We’re still trying to reach Kaplan.) Del Posto GM Alfredo Ruiz confirms that Kaplan has been gone since January 1, but that her full staff is still in place and doing her menu as before. Co-owner Joe Bastianich says, “The split was amicable, and we wish Nicole nothing but the best in everything she does.” Bastianich added that the restaurant is looking at a couple of people and that, when the hire does happen, it will be “big news.”

More: NewsFeed »alex stupak, claudia fleming, del posto, dessert, jean georges, joe bastianich, johnny iuzzini, karen demasco, nicole kaplan, sam mason

Back of the House

12/13/07

7:25 AM

Facebook Brings Chefs Closer Together

We dedicate a lot of our time to obsessing over the restaurant industry's heavy hitters: Gordo, Mario, Fabio. But what about the bright young things who slave away in the shadows of the line? No doubt many of them will be destined for big things, and surely they're dreaming of the days when they'll have an empire and a single moniker ending in "o." So who's keeping an eye on them? After hours of prowling around Facebook, we can now enthusiastically assert that we are. We combed through the social-networking site, finding dozens of profiles and pulling the most useful for your reference. Who's the sous-chef with a dislike of olives and fake tits? Which pastry extern is friends with New York's Sexiest Chef? And why are so many Per Se–ers on the site? Does Thomas Keller make it a staff requirement or something? --Alexandra Vallis

More: Back of the House »facebook, johnny iuzzini, mario batali, per se, thomas keller

Foodievents

11/19/07

1:00 PM

Pastry Royalty Performs at Sweet

Johnny Zs plays to the cameras (the dessert was awesome).Photo: Melissa Hom

The city’s top dessert chefs, from Johnny Iuzzini on down, delighted deep-pocketed foodies with their signature confections at Sweet on Friday night. Evian and Ferro Rocher flexed their marketing muscle, dispatching well-formed young people in tight clothes to represent their not especially sexy brands. The pastry aristocracy (Goldfarb, Iuzzini, and Stupak) were all present and accounted for, standing proudly behind space-age-looking creations that tasted even better than they looked. (Only Sam Mason wasn’t around, as someone had to man the stoves at Tailor.) At first we were sort of alarmed: There were obviously many more guests than had originally been intended, for the long, narrow, space, but since cake isn’t combustible, it all seemed safe enough. A body can only take so much chocolate ganache, Champagne, and high-powered pastry cooks crammed into one hall.

More: Foodievents »alex stupak, desserts, johnny iuzzini, sam mason, sweet, tailor, tom colicchio, wichcraft

Neighborhood Watch

11/15/07

3:30 PM

Rocky Sullivan’s Turns Its Back on Red Hook; Lamb Sliders Come to Brooklyn

Fort Greene: A Moroccan restaurant is on the way to DeKalb Avenue, and with it the lamb sliders Brooklynites have been waiting for. [VV]
Lower East Side: Food-science guru Dave Arnold of FCI is planning a drinks and desserts venue with none other than Sexiest Chef Johnny Zs. A used centrifuge is already part of the plan. [Mouthing Off/Food and Wine] Inoteca is staying in the game thanks to some new tasting menus. [Bottomless Dish/Citysearch]
Red Hook: Rocky Sullivan's has mortally offended Red Hook by not serving Six Point beer, despite being literally next door to the brewery. [Eater]
Sunnyside: Pork biscuits at the Euro Shop are off the hook. Who cares if they are unpronounceable? [Gothamist]

More: Neighborhood Watch »david arnold, euro shop, inoteca, johnny iuzzini, kyotofu, rocky sullivans

Mediavore

11/14/07

10:00 AM

Goldfarb Will Make Your Saturday; 1OAK Might Open Someday

Some desserts you’ll be able to try when Will Goldfarb starts serving at the new Dessert Studio at Michel Cluizel this Saturday include “white chocolate gelato drizzled with olive oil; Indonesian vanilla ice cream with American caviar; and chocolate-hazelnut cake with apricots and brown sugar ice.” Okay, we need to take a cold shower. [NYT]
Related: Cluizel, Goldfarb to Join Forces in Dessert Pact

1OAK really is close to opening, maybe two or three weeks according to one random construction worker — or is that four to six weeks? [Imbible/Citysearch]
Related: Until 1OAK Opens, Look for Richie Akiva at Scores

New French wine bar Solex is shaping up to be in competition with Momofuku 2.0 for the title of late-night chef hangout. [Mouthing Off/Food&Wine]

More: Mediavore »10ak, babbo, bubby's, dessert studio at michel cluizel, joe ng, johnny iuzzini, momofuku noodle bar, richie akiva, solex, will goldfarb

Back of the House

11/14/07

9:30 AM

Johnny Iuzzini Is Clearly the Sexiest Chef in New York!

Who can take a sunrise and sprinkle it with dew?Photo: NYDailyNews.com

Was there ever any doubt as to who would win Sexiest Chef contest over at the Daily News? Not here! The polls have closed and, as we always knew he would, our old pal Johnny Zs has walked away with the prize, thanks to 285 votes in the “sizzling” category. In his champion photo, Johnny (who, you'll remember, has a newsletter that reminds us he “is becoming quite the superstar”) is photographed sitting next to his motorcycle, like a vanilla-coated Fonzie for the 21st century.

Bonus: In celebrating his win, Iuzzini gives us the perfect cocktail of quotage. First he declares — with a straight face — that “We're chefs and that's the main thing.” But then he later hints — also with a straight face, no doubt — that he's available for the lucky ladies: “"There's always time to date," he said. "I work about 12 to 14 hours [a day], so that leaves about 10 hours for dating. I don't need to sleep much.” Oh, swoon.

New York's Sexiest Chef: Johnny Iuzzini [NYDN]
Earlier: Johnny Iuzzini's Plea: Elect Me Sexiest Chef!

More: Back of the House »chef objectification, johnny iuzzini

Back of the House

11/ 9/07

9:30 AM

Need Your Fix of Johnny Iuzzini News? You're in Luck!

It's Z-man's happening, and it freaks us out!

After we had some sport with Johnny Iuzzini earlier this week, the dessert master was pretty steamed — he even asked us to take him off our list. No problem, but wouldn’t you have thought we would be off his? Not so! Yesterday brought us our long-awaited issue of “See What’s Up With Johnny,” the official Johnny Iuzzini newsletter. “As usual, Johnny has been receiving quite a lot of buzz,” it assured us, going on to quote Grub Street as calling the tattooed wunderkind “the most influential dessert chef working today.”

More: Back of the House »desserts, jean georges, johnny iuzzini

Back of the House

11/ 6/07

12:07 PM

Johnny Iuzzini's Plea: Elect Me Sexiest Chef!

Johnny Z: "Chocolate is my ace in the hole."Photo: Patrick McMullan

We were still trying to make up our mind whether the Daily News’ “New York’s Sexiest Chef” contest was for real or not, when we got an e-mail blast from nominee Johnny Iuzzini, last seen wearing a meringue body stocking on his stylish Website. It read: “Check out todays ny daily news- get a hard copy. Register to see all the chefs and pics and vote!!!!”

More: Back of the House »desserts, jean georges, johnny iuzzini, tom colicchio

Mediavore

9/20/07

10:00 AM

Johnny Iuzzini Is the Badass You Want Him to Be; Bloomfield vs. an Iron Chef

In true badass-with-a-softer-side form, the latest rock-star pastry chef Johnny Zs reveals he dreamed of becoming a stuntman before discovering his love for baking. [Restaurant Girl]

The Spotted Pig’s April Bloomfield is stepping into the ring this morning to battle an undisclosed Iron Chef. [Down by the Hipster]

True top chef André Soltner formerly of Lutece goes on about the pros and cons of food TV. [Newsday]

More: Mediavore »andre soltner, april bloomfield, health department, health inspection, iron chef, johnny iuzzini, spotted pig, top chef

NewsFeed

9/14/07

4:25 PM

Giant Dessert Spectacular Ushers in New York Wine & Food Festival

Dude! Sweet.Photo courtesy Sumile

The South Beach Wine & Food Festival was such a big hit that a New York spinoff was probably inevitable — and it will be thus! The local incarnation will begin with Sweet on November 16. And what's Sweet, you may ask? Oh, just a "late-night dessert party" for 1,500 guests on the waterfront, featuring all the city’s top pastry chefs: Grub Street buddy Johnny Zs of Jean Georges, Michael Laiskonis of Le Bernardin, Karen DeMasco of Craft, and Nicole Kaplan of Del Posto. More pastry gods and goddesses will be added to the list in coming months.

But there's more, as Sweet is just a warm-up for the New York City Wine & Food Festival (their site just went live). It’ll be held next fall, and we’re predicting that it will be huge, even more of a hedonistic binge and bacchanal than the Miami original. In the meantime, Sweet should be a pretty good dry run.

New York City Wine and Food Festival [Official Site]

More: NewsFeed »johnny iuzzini, karen demasco, michael laskonis, new york wine and food festival, nicole kaplan, south beach wine and food festival, sweet

The In-box

8/31/07

1:00 PM

A Restaurant World ‘Howl’

"I have seen the best chefs of my generation tattooed meringued frying..."Photo: Lee Balterman/Time Life Pictures/Getty Images

A reader sent us this Ginsbergian screed earlier this week, which struck us as a perfect snapshot of the restaurant world, circa summer 2007. We leave you now for the holiday weekend. Enjoy!

DanYelle as a restaurant critic? Anne Burell shticking it up in the kitchen with a skirt with horsies on it? David Chang morphing from shy nice smiley ramen guy to F-bomb dropping Esquire spread noodle mob boss? Johnny Iuzzini in a meringue body stocking? Tattoos as the new talent. Top Chef as the new Michelin. Glorified fryers, grass fed peaches, 1,000 day meat. I mean, it’s as if we are all now Cracker Jacks ripping open the next prize every time we open a menu. It's always going to be a disposable toy. Or wash-off ink. It's a 3 onion ring circus, this industry. We have our freaks and our clowns and our daredevils and our bearded ladies. It's "I invented the lobster roll and that white wicker chair to sit on while you eat it." Huh? It's sellouts: Bertoli, Starbucks, Target, FreshDirect, Appleby’s. It's all hypocritical: Eat fresh … and then buy my frozen dinner meals. Hitchcock would have tapped into a whole new genre with the horror of the food world.
—An Appalled Spectator

More: The In-box »anne burrell, david chang, johnny iuzzini, ming tsai, pearl oyster bar, rocco dispirito, top chef, tyler florence

The Annotated Dish

8/30/07

5:30 PM

Strawberry Dessert Quartet at Jean Georges

Johnny Iuzzini of Jean Georges is one of the leading figures in the modern Dessert Revolution and arguably the most influential dessert chef working today. Typically, any meal at Jean Georges ends with one of four dessert tastings — four dishes united by a single theme. While summer strawberries last (likely another two or three weeks), this strawberry tasting will be available for both lunch and dinner. “The idea is to show how versatile strawberries are,” Iuzzini says. “There are so many ways to manipulate it and yet still maintain its integrity.” As always, mouse over the different desserts to hear them described in the chef’s own words.

More: The Annotated Dish »desserts, jean georges, johnny iuzzini, strawberries

Mediavore

8/21/07

10:34 AM

Immigrant Pickers Scant for Apple Season; Whole Foods–Wild Oats Deal Delayed

Apples, apples everywhere, but not an immigrant to pick them, New York growers fear. [NYT]

A federal appeals court has postponed the Whole Foods–Wild Oats merger "arguing that it would reduce competition and increase prices in the marketplace for natural and organic foods." And here, we thought "Project Goldmine" would benefit the customer. [NYT]

Let us weep for the carnies: Trans fats have been banned in Indiana. State fairgoers ate deep-fried Snickers and Oreos cooked in “healthier” oils. [NYT]

More: Mediavore »belvedere, fat virus, jean georges, johnny iuzzini, trans fats, white star, whole foods, wild oats

Back of the House

7/19/07

2:44 PM

‘Top Chef’ Non-Winner Lia on What Went Wrong

Lia Bardeen should have just made a chicken.Photo courtesy Bravo

Lia Bardeen, the second New Yorker sent packing in as many weeks, was eliminated last night after the judges described her polenta dish as “mush” and “inedible.” After her elimination, she talked to us about the self-appointed villain of the show and why the kitchen at Jean Georges is more stressful than competing on Top Chef.

More: Back of the House »jean georges, johnny iuzzini, lia bardeen, losers, top chef

The Launch

4/12/07

9:00 AM

Sam Mason Joins a Molecular Secret Society

Three mad scientists: from left, Sam Mason, Wylie Dufresne, and Will Goldfarb.Photo: Melissa Hom

Welcome to the latest installment of the Launch, where Sam Mason, former pastry chef at wd-50, relates the ups and downs of preparing to open Tailor, the swanky restaurant and lounge coming together at 525 Broome Street.