Local restaurant called out - sort of -

[Baz]

Just ran across a FB post about a new local restaurant - I hadn't been there so I checked out the reviews and most were the usual "I had this dish and it was great - nice to have a nice eatery in town, etc, etc."

Then I saw this one:

While dining here I overheard chef Ryan claiming to have attended the Culinary Institute of America. My nephew attended that school, as have most every famous chef you've ever heard of. This was a pretty big claim, so I looked into it. I called the registrar of the school and no one matching his name [save for a much older gentleman] was anywhere in their system. Not even an application. So essentially, the chef here is a charlatan and a liar. The poke is fantastic, the food is good overall, but "chef" Ryan is a phony.

Then another person replied and said he was being rude by posting this and he could be wrong.

So he followed up with these 3 posts:

Wow, ignorance. No, I am not stalking the chef, I promise you he is not that intriguing. But the idea that a little restaurant just opening up on Flager would have a CIA grad was interesting, so I looked into it. The only graduate of the CIA in this town *that I know of* works at The Spanish River Grille.

AS FOR the claim that his "taking a few classes" wouldn't have been on record to the registrar, this is something I specifically asked about. They have no record of him even APPLYING, or stepping foot into the institute, and they would indeed have record of him taking a few classes because he would have to be ENROLLED to do that. He never enrolled. Call for yourself if you would like to know the truth or not:
800-245-2433
(845) 452-9600

People in general have an overly cavalier attitude about the people who prepare their food when they dine out. I take it seriously. This restaurant and this chef prepare foods that could very easily make a person sick without a thoroughly trained or experienced individual behind the wheel, with rare meats and raw seafood being central to some of the dishes. The place is beautiful, the staff is very friendly, and the food is good, but it's unsettling that the chef here is a person that would lie about something like that. Time in a culinary school is not required to be a great chef, in my opinion. So if you weren't formerly trained, fine, you may be an autodidact and with enough time and experience in the field, that's just as good if not better than time in a culinary school. But don't tell fibs to impress people and come off as something you're not, it isn't necessary, and it is very gauche. If I'm not mistaken, they have an HACCP protocol in this restaurant. There is a lot of documenting, timekeeping, temperature control, etc involved in an HACCP. I would hate to think that someone who was willing to lie about whether he went to the Harvard of culinary schools is in charge of an HACCP. It would be much easier to LIE about whether the temperature on stored raw fish had elevated half a degree above the safety boundary than record it truthfully and dispose of all that inventory. Not accusing anyone in the kitchen of doing this, but if the chef is a dishonest person, I have reason to worry about things such as this. Sorry to be such a stickler.

This was back in May and the owner has since posted in this section (reviews) so he must have seen them.

I wonder if he is just ignoring them or if the chef really was lying about his CIA credentials.

On one level I think it's great that someone actually checked the guy out. But if he's wrong it seems the chef or owner should say something about it - maybe clear the air.

[rpastir]

Who gives a sh/t? If the food is good, I don't care if the guy went to the CIA or plumbing school. And I consider myself a "foodie".

I think the guy posting the review was being a tool....and has way too much time on his hands to follow-up that much and then post about his "findings".

[dad911]

CIA offers week long mini-courses. My wife took one about 10 years ago, and it was a great experience.

She could easily say 'I learned how to do XYZ at the CIA', while she was never a full time student, nor graduated, she did attend.

Reviewer should get a life if they have nothing better to do than follow up on overheard conversations.

[dafischer]

Who gives a flying fig about the chef's "credentials" if the food and service are good? The reviewer is a total dick.

[aigel]

Guy "overheard" the cook say something. Whatever.

This would only be an issue if there was a written advertisement in the menu or elsewhere in the restaurant making this claim. Otherwise it is just hearsay.

G

[Holger]

Originally Posted by dad911

Reviewer should get a life if they have nothing better to do than follow up on overheard conversations.

^this
Who has the time and interest to write reviews anyways?! And who trusts/reads those reviews?
I am already annoyed by the "review this" and "review that" from Amazon ...

[JJ 911SC]

Originally Posted by aigel

Guy "overheard" the cook say something. Whatever...

And maybe he is the fraud... to get is 15 minutes of fame on FB or whatever they call it; 15 minutes of stupid posting.

[Baz]

Originally Posted by aigel

Guy "overheard" the cook say something. Whatever.

This would only be an issue if there was a written advertisement in the menu or elsewhere in the restaurant making this claim. Otherwise it is just hearsay.

G

This is posted on their FB page under his photo:

Chef Adam (last name), graduate of CIA

Personally - I don't care.

I just thought it was interesting that a consumer actually checked up on someone's accreditation claim. I'm not in this industry so it's hard for me to put into context what this means to the consumer, other than a general observation that the guy could be faking his credentials.

I doubt I will ever even go eat there - regardless of this scenario - I just don't care to eat out that much.

[onewhippedpuppy]

Sounds like a cook jealous that he doesn't have his own restaurant......

"Overhearing" a claim like that is BS. Now if the chef at this restaurant used being a CIA graduate as a selling point in advertising, calling him out might be more appropriate. A good buddy of mine is a CIA grad, their list of alumni is pretty impressive.

[BReif61]

This only reinforces my point that Facebook should not be open to people over 30.

[Porsche-O-Phile]

Cook is a liar and it's good that he's being called out on it.

[VINMAN]

Reviews are a joke. Last thing I'd do, is take anyone else's opinion on food or a restaurant. Everyones tastes and "needs" are different.
I'm a "Diners, Drive Ins and Dives" type of person anyway. I'm not a food snob. I couldn't give a flying you know what about the cooks credentials or whatever piece of parchment he has hanging on the wall. As long as the food is great, plentiful and reasonably priced, I'm thrilled.

[ossiblue]

Originally Posted by Baz

This is posted on their FB page under his photo:

Chef Adam (last name), graduate of CIA

Personally - I don't care.

I just thought it was interesting that a consumer actually checked up on someone's accreditation claim. I'm not in this industry so it's hard for me to put into context what this means to the consumer, other than a general observation that the guy could be faking his credentials.

I doubt I will ever even go eat there - regardless of this scenario - I just don't care to eat out that much.

I'm like the rest of you, I couldn't care less about FB or a chef's credentials. However, the restaurant apparently uses this claim in their FB page and, thus, must feel it enhances their public image (why else would they put up the claim?). The reviewer may need to get a life, but he did find out that the claim by the restaurant, on FB, was bogus. It's called "resume padding." Lots of people do it, few get caught because few actually do any fact checking. How important is the issue? Depends on the industry/business and the degree of padding. Wouldn't want to see it on a surgeon's resume, but on a chef in a small restaurant? Let the buying public decide.

[Baz]

Solid post and well said as usually L.J.

I guess that's the whole point.

Should someone get away with padding their resume?

Maybe it depends on their craft.

Surgeons vs. Chefs......hmmmm.......

But if you remember.....the reviewer did mention a potential health issue.....that 'could' be tied to the issue of a person who's character is in question.

He gets 'points' for that, does he not?

In any rate - how would you feel if someone in YOUR field of work misrepresented himself?

Not too many landscapers I know have a 4 year degree from the University of Florida school of Agriculture - with a major in Ornamental Horticulture. If someone advertised they did and I found out they were a fraud...what would I do?

[flipper35]

They would not be an employee of mine if I found out they were fraudulent.

[ossiblue]

Originally Posted by Baz

Solid post and well said as usually L.J.

I guess that's the whole point.

Should someone get away with padding their resume?

Maybe it depends on their craft.

Surgeons vs. Chefs......hmmmm.......

But if you remember.....the reviewer did mention a potential health issue.....that 'could' be tied to the issue of a person who's character is in question.

He gets 'points' for that, does he not?

In any rate - how would you feel if someone in YOUR field of work misrepresented himself?

Not too many landscapers I know have a 4 year degree from the University of Florida school of Agriculture - with a major in Ornamental Horticulture. If someone advertised they did and I found out they were a fraud...what would I do?

IMO, no one should get away with resume padding, it's the white collar version of steroid use. It's lying. If true, this chef has lied about his training. His employer has used the lie (either knowingly or not) to boost their public image. For whatever reason, the reviewer's curiosity was piqued enough to do a little checking and felt it was perfectly ok to report his findings. I applaud his efforts, and let the public decide if it is an important issue. If the chef took a short session as one poster's spouse had done, then we have classic resume padding. If he never received any instruction, we have outright lying. This isn't a national health or safety issue. It's simply keeping them honest.

[sailchef]

You all realize that there were actually 2.5 million attendees at the original Woodstock in 1969 don't you?

[TimT]

My GF and I crack up at Yelp reviews we see for restaurants around her neighborhood in Queens, NY. The GF is Han Chinese from Chendgu, and she laughs at many yelp reviews, she tells me " All these reviews by white people! They don't know Szechuan food!!"

Now when we go to really authentic Chinese places she laughs when she sees the metrosexuals taking pictures of food and posting yelp reviews and mentioning how good the "wok hei" (breath of wok) is..

Being a chef educated at CIA gives some cred, as does a resume of working with renowned chefs... Lying on the resume is egregious..

FWIW one of the most enjoyable and memorable meals I ever had was prepared in a rustic kitchen in rural China (Miangfeshen) probably was just techniques handed down... no shingle to hang on the wall

Fish rubbed with spices, grilled over an open fire in an outdoor kitchen.. fresh pepper shoots in vinegar, battered and fried rose blossoms...

Complete with kitchen mascot...










Choosing the fish



Mascot

[Noah930]

Maybe the reviewer has too much time on his hands. But I appreciate and support the guy for checking facts if the restaurant and/or chef are using the alleged educational pedigree as a marketing point. Kudos to someone for doing so and keeping "professionals" honest about their claims. Let potential patrons decide if that's important to them or not.

[rusnak]

There are two CIA campuses. One in Hyde Park and one in Napa.