A chef’s food for thought
Vongerichten talks trends, keeping it simple.
Chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten is one of the most revered chefs in the world.
The Michelin-starred chef has fed Oprah, George Clooney and the Dalai Lama. His eponymous fine-dining restaurant in New York received four stars from The New York Times.
Born and trained in France, Vongerichten owns and operates 39 restaurants worldwide and has shared his work on programs like the “Today Show,” “Good Morning America” and “Top Chef.”
We caught up with the acclaimed chef as he prepped his latest restaurant Jean-Georges Philadelphia, which opens at Four Seasons Hotel Philadelphia in August. Vongerichten dished on food trends and let us know what’s fresh and what’s past their expiration date.
Questions and answers have been edited for length and clarity.
Question: What’s your favorite trend happening in food today?
Jean-Georges Vongerichten: When I came to New York in 1986, people were eating Chinese food on Sunday nights. I feel today, people eat Asian food two or three times a week because they’re looking for new sensation, new flavors. ... palates have changed nowadays. They have more tolerance for spice, for acidity, for more flavor on the food.
Q: Are there any food trends you don’t like?
Vongerichten: Molecular gastronomy. What I love is the last couple years, we went back to more basics, like simple food. I’m not too crazy about sous vide as well, because I feel like, if you live in a city like Philadelphia or New York, you don’t need to put things in a bag or cook it in a bag. I like fire. I like live cooking. I think we’re going back to that, to a more simple, more direct way of cooking. I feel we are going back in touch to more simple life and more simple things. Nobody needs chemicals in their food. I feel the molecular gastronomy was a little out of whack.
Q: What food will never go out of style?
Vongerichten: People are always going to eat Italian food. They’re always going to have sushi. Is it creative sushi? Is it traditional sushi? I mean, it’s still sushi. Same thing with Italian. But you know what’s never going to go out of style? Good food. Delicious food. Some type of people are looking for weird combination, but, in the end, we’re all going back to delicious.
Q: Your career in food and dining has taken you all over the world. Are there any food trends from other countries you wish were more popular in America?
Vongerichten: When I go to a new city I’ve never been to … I drop my luggage in the hotel. I go straight to the market, and I see how people eat. I feel like all the markets in Asia are run by people cooking at the market. If you look at the food trucks and everything else, the only street food we had in New York for many years was hot dogs. Now we have all kinds ... I’m a big fan of street food.
Q: What’s an older trend that isn’t in style anymore but you think should be brought back?
Vongerichten: I feel like in the old days, everything was on a platter. Everything was cooked in a pot, and put the pot in the middle of a table, and people served themselves. I feel we’re going back to that a little bit. I don’t know if it’s the “Game of Thrones” cooking, where you put the leg of lamb in the middle of the table and people slice their own. People want to see the real food. I feel like we’re going back to bigger pieces, less plating, less touching the food.
Q: How important would you say presentation is to the overall dining experience?
Vongerichten: Oh, it’s very important. I mean, everything has to be Instagramable. Is it a whole chicken on fire or is it something beautifully presented with edible flowers? I think today, visual is very important, as you know. Is it simple? Is it complicated? But the visual I think today where everyone is posting food, everybody is taking pictures of views of design, I think it’s a way of communication today. Sometimes if I go to a restaurant, I go to Instagram to see what the food looks like before I actually make a reservation.
Q: How do you think people will be eating in the future?
I believe that the future of food is really plant-based. I was saying that to all my chefs. We’re still gonna eat steaks and fish and a lot of things, but I think, as a daily diet, we’re probably gonna eat more plants and grains.
Q: Who are some celebrities or famous people you’ve served in your restaurants?
Vongerichten: Oh my God, I have a huge list, but I don’t remember all the names. You know, George Clooney to Oprah. We cooked for the Dalai Lama once. Every day, we have people coming to our restaurants as well, but I feel like everybody is somebody. When you come to us, we treat you the same way.