Ryan Bartlow (left) in the kitchen of Chez Noir, in Carmel, with Chez Noir’s chef-owner Jonny Black and Luigi Petrocelli. (Photo by Joshua Rose via Instagram/@cheznoircarmel.)
It was about 4:00 p.m. West Coast time when the texts started rolling in.
Chef, it’s pretty brutal here in the dining room. Just letting you know. Bartolo’s CDC was checking in to remind me how hot it was getting in Manhattan. The first New York heatwave had landed, and our HVAC was choking.
Meanwhile, I was 3,000 miles away, elbow-deep in live abalone in the gorgeous kitchen of Chez Noir, out in the comfortable, coastal climate of Carmel, California, for a two-night guest chef residency. And all I could think about was the back room in our West Village restaurant, which had turned into a 300-square-foot oven.
Ryan, it is fucking mizz in here, when is this getting resolved? one server texted, using her signature slang for miserable. The texts kept coming, one grim little dispatch after another.
Read the rest of the article by becoming a paid subscriber.
Paid subscribers get full access to paywalled, weekly content from top journalists. Subscribe to stay in the know on the inside story of the restaurant business.
Subscribe
