25 replies to this topic

[marauder]

It's definitely not an easy business. However, he had the toughest part licked already. He had three stars before he turned 30. He would have investors lined up around the corner to do projects with him. I don't mean Chodorow either. I mean investors who value food AND profits. The key is to parlay your passion for excellence into financial success. ALA Jean Georges, Boulud, Bouley, yadda yadda yadda. You can do both. You might not become "Martha Stewart, but bigger" but you can certainly still be "rich" by most standards. lol.

[splinky]

It's definitely not an easy business. However, he had the toughest part licked already. He had three stars before he turned 30. He would have investors lined up around the corner to do projects with him. I don't mean Chodorow either. I mean investors who value food AND profits. The key is to parlay your passion for excellence into financial success. ALA Jean Georges, Boulud, Bouley, yadda yadda yadda. You can do both. You might not become "Martha Stewart, but bigger" but you can certainly still be "rich" by most standards. lol.

He had some pretty good partners at UP. I think if he had shown more loyalty, he would have reaped the benefits in cooler ways than he has been. Financial reward is exciting and all, especially if you haven't grown up with alot of money but he has a business degree and one might hope he'd have more business savvy than he has shown. Selling your mother with some cheaply made pans on QVC is probably not a winning idea. Neither is a $22 entree on a paper plate.

[Suzanne F]

Rocco should team up with Johannes Sanzin. Who? Before Henry Meer took that space and expanded it into City Hall, Sanzin was the chef at one of the restaurants there, either 131 Duane or The Pearl Room. It was wonderful, and he showed great promise. He too crashed and burned, was cheffing at some soup place. Now, I don't know where he is. But if he could come back, I'd eat his food happily. Also the stuff Rocco did at UP. (Where I interviewed but decided not to trail -- I was warned about the intensity, that was not what I needed at that stage of my career. Other Rocco trivia: at least one of his school jackets ended up at a uniform rental place; it used to rotate through our weekly order at a place I used to work.)

[Daisy]

Sanzin's food was great. In the late nineties he very briefly had his own place, called Sanzin, on Spring Street. It was very good and quickly became a late night chefs' hangout, but Sanzin's personal problems got in the way of its success, or so I was told by people who know him.

[Sneakeater]

Sanzin then opened a place in Brooklyn called St. Marks Bistro. But he left, deciding (probably by reason of the "personal problems" Daisy adverted to) he'd rather be an executive rather than a practicing chef. He's now executive chef (or really some less defined position) for a bunch of restaurants he co-owns in Brooklyn, none of them distinguished.

[splinky]

Sanzin then opened a place in Brooklyn called St. Marks Bistro. But he left, deciding (probably by reason of the "personal problems" Daisy adverted to) he'd rather be an executive rather than a practicing chef. He's now executive chef (or really some less defined position) for a bunch of restaurants he co-owns in Brooklyn, none of them distinguished.

S,
Was just about to crosspost this. As I recall, NYMag had nice things to say about the place while it lasted

[Sneakeater]

It was VERY good.

(Although it outlasted him by a few years, and declined after he left.)

[splinky]

S,
His current collection of restaurants are mostly in Fort Greene, yes?

[Sneakeater]

Yeah -- and one in Clinton Hill.

[wingding]

Rocco should team up with Johannes Sanzin. Who? Before Henry Meer took that space and expanded it into City Hall, Sanzin was the chef at one of the restaurants there, either 131 Duane or The Pearl Room. It was wonderful, and he showed great promise. He too crashed and burned, was cheffing at some soup place. Now, I don't know where he is. But if he could come back, I'd eat his food happily. Also the stuff Rocco did at UP. (Where I interviewed but decided not to trail -- I was warned about the intensity, that was not what I needed at that stage of my career. Other Rocco trivia: at least one of his school jackets ended up at a uniform rental place; it used to rotate through our weekly order at a place I used to work.)

You too,huh?...and he kept calling me back.I had just left an exhausting job,and wasn't ready for the legendary 90 hours a week.Friends that I know who made it through gained some valuable skills.Maybe R. himself got tired of the intensity...but there was wonderful food there while it lasted.

[marauder]

I was working 85 hours a week there as an extern!!! I made the mistake of telling him, "But chef, I only get credit for 40 hours per week from my school." I thought his head was going to explode off of his shoulders. In retorspect, pretty funny. At the time, it was kind of intimidating. lol. I learned a lot there about work ethic and just being able to take tons of shit. While that single experience was bad, the worst I had during that early part of my career trailing at Craft. If your dish was late to the pass, the line cooks would all smack their hands on the line and chant "Hurry up! Hurry up!" in unison. Again, funny looking back. At the time, I wanted to tell everybody to fuck off and just leave. lol. Funny thing is, I do it to all my young cooks now at least once. The look on their face is priceless. lol.