How involved are Tramonto and Gand?

I recently dined at Tru and then reviewed it on another website. In my review I remarked that Tramonto and Gand are still putting out creative dishes. I was then told by another reviewer that Tramanto and Gand are not at Tru anymore but continue to have their names attached to the work being done there. That sounds ridiculous to me. Can anyone shed light on the topic? Are Tramanto and Gand still working at Tru or not?

I've seen Gale in the pastry kitchen within the last couple months, from the street.

Gracias, Basis.

No, they spend most of their time out in the burbs. They have never spent a great deal of time there. Tv shows and such take chefs out of their kitchens, that is why god gave us sous chefs and chef de cuisines.

If I rember correctly the pastry kitchen at Tru does not have windows. The Windows that look into the kitchen see into the chefs office/chefs table area.

Do not be alarmed Trotter is not in his place much either.

Whether or not Tramanto and Gand are there on a nightly basis (or even at all) really isn't that relevant. What is important is who they have put in the kitchen and who is running the show, executing the vision. In a perfect world, you shouldn't be able to tell the difference. After all...how often do you think Thomas Keller is actually in the kitchen at French Laundry or Per Se? It doesn't matter because of the caliber of talent he has running his kitchens.

I suspect that at a number of restaurants the "name" chef isn't there quite as often as the average diner would like to believe.

Do not be alarmed Trotter is not in his place much either.

You might be pleasantly surprised to know how much Chef Trotter actually is in the kitchen and dining room...

I'm curious as to whether or not there is any involvement...not how much. It's a simple question...are they still cooking at Tru or not?

Cuv wrote:It's a simple question...are they still cooking at Tru or not?

Well, it's not really such a simple question for people here on LTHForum. At least, contrary to theaters which announce when understudies are filling roles, it's not really universal that restaurants publicize exactly who is doing the cooking on any given night.

Have you considered calling the restaurant and asking?

The windows look into the private dining area in the kitchen. That room has a window into the pastry kitchen and the main kitchen.

On a side note, we're eating there next week. I'll report on the goings on.

I thought it would be more appropriate to ask the question to LTH'ers as this community seems to know the skinny almost all the time. I don't know that calling Tru would add any clarity as it seems it (Tru) would have an interest in all of us believing Rick and Gale never step foot outside of its doors.

I'm not under the impression that Tramanto and Gand work at Tru in the kitchen every day but I would be interested to know if they don't work in the kitchen at all.

Regarding Trotter's, I recently ate at the kitchen table and was surprised to find Trotter hard at work next to us, engineering the kitchen.

Cuv wrote:Regarding Trotter's, I recently ate at the kitchen table and was surprised to find Trotter hard at work next to us, engineering the kitchen.

I was at Trotter's kitchen table a few years ago. On that occasion Trotter was not working in the kitchen. He floated in to scare the staff straight with his random inspections. He stopped a waiter taking plated food to the dining room. He stared deeply into the dish with the sous chef and every cook who contributed to this plate holding their breath. Until he gave his approval, you could cut the tension in the room with a knife. The room brightened when he left the room. Charlie Trotter's entire presence in the kitchen was a mere 5 minutes that night. If you saw him working, then you were fortunate.

Regards,

Fortunate, depending on your perspective. The mood was similar to the one you described. At one point he admonished our table for being too into our own conversation and not soaking up the true experience of eating in his kitchen. If Mr. Trotter were a yellow man he might look like this...

Cuv wrote:I recently dined at Tru and then reviewed it on another website. In my review I remarked that Tramonto and Gand are still putting out creative dishes. I was then told by another reviewer that Tramanto and Gand are not at Tru anymore but continue to have their names attached to the work being done there. That sounds ridiculous to me. Can anyone shed light on the topic? Are Tramanto and Gand still working at Tru or not?

Chef Laurent Gras is at Tru more than Gand and Tramanto.

I think Chef Trotter is incredible, generous and an amazing talent and such a benefit to Chicago. Intense, absolutely. You think he is tough now - you should have seen him 10 years ago!

I visit the restaurant a few times a month and he is there 85% of the time. In fact, he leads the staff meetings most evenings...

As far as the Tramonto's they have publicly stated that they are relatively tired of the travel to downtown and prefer to stay/work in their new ventures since it is so close to their homes. I have rarely seen Rick or Gale at TRU (or Osteria) and if you are looking to spot them I would check the Burbs.

Joel Dennis is still Chef de Cuisine at Tru, no? In that role he oversees the kitchen day-to-day I believe.

He is also my wife's relative in some fashion (her father and his father are first cousins...what that makes them I'm not sure, but I'm hoping it makes them close enough for a comped meal at Tru).

Well, just checked the website and the chef de cuisine is now a gentleman named Tim Graham. My chances at the free caviar staircase have be lost forever.

I can tell you with certainty that neither Rick or Gail spend much time at TRU (a good friend of mine works in the restaurant). Neither one has had much of a role in the menu recently or kitchen operations; rather, it's been Laurent Gras (as noted above) and Ken Melhman. Rumours are floating, though, that Laurent Gras will get his own LEYE restaurant in Trump Tower once it's done, not that you heard that from me... Tim Graham is a good guy who's been with TRU for a while now. Young, maybe, for that position, but he clearly knows what he's doing.

Thank you for the great feedback responding to my original post. I knew LTH'ers would come through. BTW, even though Rick and Gale aren't doing much at TRU anymore my recent visit was incredible. As far as Trotter, I love what he does at his place and didn't misinterpret his brevity as animosity. He probably could have been more patient with a group dropping big money to dine in his kitchen but, then again, I'm sure there would have been a number of others to take our rezzie, pay our bill, and be more "reverent" than we were.

jesteinf wrote:Whether or not Tramanto and Gand are there on a nightly basis (or even at all) really isn't that relevant. What is important is who they have put in the kitchen and who is running the show, executing the vision. In a perfect world, you shouldn't be able to tell the difference. After all...how often do you think Thomas Keller is actually in the kitchen at French Laundry or Per Se? It doesn't matter because of the caliber of talent he has running his kitchens.

I suspect that at a number of restaurants the "name" chef isn't there quite as often as the average diner would like to believe.

I agree and disagree Josh. It is true that it is unimportant whether Gale and Rick are there, but it is quite important who is there and it should not be that hard to figure out who really is running the show on a day to day basis, including both running the kitchen and planning the menu. Note that I say, it should not be, but of course it is.

As chefs have increasingly become celebrities, they have also "leveraged their brand" (brand=name) to have multiple restaurants. Wolfgang P started this, I think, but it is pretty common now. Seems like each new place gets a few weeks of attention, and then off they go to some other venture. From there, the quality is much more dependent on who really is in charge, so it would be great to know that. But unless the real Chef has a very strong name and track record, they do not really share that information. So when you look at a review of a place like Tru from last month, you can't really be assured that the same chef is in place today without some sleuthing. And it absolutely does make a difference who is in charge.

Yet another reason for me to choose the up'n comers and avoid the institutions.

Edited to clarify - This primarily applies to places that are creative and of pretty high quality. So I would be a lot less concerned about who is running the Osteria than Tru. And one last weasel - some organizations are more organized than others, and some Executive Chefs are fairly good at expressing themselves in the food even when they are not around too much. So there are examples one could cite that contradict what I said above. But they are exceptions, and I think the general rule is that it matters a lot who is really in charge, day to day at Per Se, Tru, or Spago, to use three examples.