One week: two down. First Daniel Barron announces he is leaving Blush effective immediately. Next, Chad White — on the eve of the debut of his season of Top Chef — announces he is moving back to his hometown of Spokane, Washington. And he is doing so next week. It was a sad sack of days for those of us who care about good plates of food in San Diego.
It is sad because it will be a lot more difficult for San Diegans to taste what these two very talented Chefs have to offer. From White’s days at Roseville and Sea Rocket Bistro and Barron’s at Blue Point, through their respective pop-ups (Plancha BajaMed and Evolve) to their more recent gigs (White at Común Kitchen and La Justina and Barron at La Valencia and Blush), San Diegans have been able to taste their food for the better part of the last decade. That is about to change.
There has been room enough for some to suggest these Chefs brought it on themselves. The head of one local food-centric group, for example, accused me of being a bit too romantic (in far more scatological terms) for bemoaning the loss of these Chefs’ culinary talents. And there is, no doubt, reason to question the tendency to reward those who excel behind the stove with the leadership of kitchens requiring markedly different skill-sets. The resumes of White and Barron — as well as the departures from their recent restaurants — make it easy to view their departures from these most recent restaurants as some sort of “failure.” It is also, beside the point.
Regardless of anything involving the business of food the bottom line is that I am going to miss the food of Chad White and Daniel Barron. Barron’s omnivorous approach to technique — from modern gastronomy with an emphasis on flavor rather than dazzle to his ambitious dry-aged meat programs at La Valencia and Blush — brought to the table something we just have not had much of in San Diego.
White’s precise, forward looking take on the new cuisine of Baja played a vital role in the local development of a cuisine that could well come to be a defining focus of San Diego’s food scene. For many in San Diego, White’s food will have been their first exposure to this sort of refined approach to Mexican flavors.
While it is not exactly clear where Barron will end up, the smart money is probably not on San Diego. The picture is clearer for White. He will still continue his involvement in Tijuana’s La Justina and in Craft Pizza Company, but he is moving back to his hometown — Spokane, Washington — to open a new 40-50 seat chef-driven restaurant called Native Post & Provisions.
As I’ve previously written, the life of a professional cook is not about creativity and fame but rather is defined by hard work and low pay, day after day. The reality stands in stark contrast to the picture painted in the media. It may be tempting to label a chef’s departure as a “failure” — and it may even be so — but the desire to return home and to a better life certainly seems understandable.
But it still saddens me to have those flavors leave with them.
Not heard anything of either of these chefs, not taking away from their hard work and dedication. San Diego has been the exodus of great talent for many years now. Gavin Kaysin, Judd Canepari, Steven Rojas, Alaun Gramoud, Vaughn Mabee, Eric Bauer and team of chefs and Justin Woodward, whom was featured in ART CULINAIRE; just to name a few from two local resort hotels. The opportunities for prosperity and understanding of great food is far from the pace it needs to be in order to keep great talent in our city. All of the named chefs have moved on to start businesses and/or take positions in top hospitality businesses around the world. Horrible pay and lack of culinary imagination is what has pushed them away. Avendra Is the death of all things creative and Gluten free and vegan have taken the place of fresh baked bread and foie gras. San Diegians aren’t prepared to eat the whole hog as much as they may pretend to be. farm to table is a flippant phrase that means less then the paper its printed on and organic is laughable as the specialty truck is pulling out the back. Im not saying the talent is all gone Jason Knibb and Trey foshee, and Market restaurant are still working pretty hard, but I cant help but to feel let down my most of my “fine dinning” experiences here in SD. I wish I could still order truffle ravioli from Chef Canepari, or the sweet onion bisque at the RBI. As one San Diego food writer once stated they where “Magic”, but the magic is gone.
I hear you, Mark. And there is certainly some truth to what you are saying. Certainly the pay here IS horrid. And perhaps we are not quite as sophisticated as we would like to be.
But we do have some great chefs here who don’t lack for culinary imagination. It is hard to find one better than William Bradley. Javier Plascencia is the real deal. And Richard Blais is definitely not all just hype. Oh, there are plenty of uncreative chefs in San Diego…then again there are plenty of uncreative chefs everywhere. Gluten Free and vegan….its not like they’re just San Diego things.
Michael