Ernie - Set an example please

[punto]

Ernie, I've been thinking about this for the last few days and I've come to my conclusion. I very strongly feel that Conrad Gallagher returning to set up a business in this country is nothing short of a bloody disgrace. The plain and simple facts of the matter are that when he went bust here, a lot of people from personnel to suppliers etc lost out on a lot of money. He has now done the exact same over in South Africa and hurt a lot more people.

That complete and utter idiot Barry Egan is singing his praise already about the return of this man and how he can exclusively reveal the details of the new restaurant. I, for one feel that Gallagher should get zero media attention from all the food critics in Ireland and in fact, they should all join together to lambaste him. No one minds if a venture doesn't work, but to fail twice with the exact same results is pathetic. He was on the Late Late show a while back and received a standing ovation almost just because he started a new business in SA. This cant happen again and I dont care how 'talented' he is as a chef, it is not fair on everyone who lost out to have their faces rubbed in dirt once more with every critic and foodie magazine hailing the return of this so called great man.

I am calling on you Ernie, and all the great contacts you have, to NOT support his new restaurant, NOT do a review on it at all and to completely blank it from media coverage.

[Bob]

Punto I'm not looking for an argument here but surely a reviewer/critic should be independent of all external issues such as those you are highlighting?

I'm not saying any of it is right/wrong, I know so little about it - I wasn't even in the country at the time - that I couldn't offer a balanced opinion/judgement on a personal level or otherwise, but regardless our own business line on something like this is to steer clear of the trouble and review the establishment as we would any other, judge the meal and the experience as opposed to the reputation and to write a review based on this possibly with a comment about him being controversial but little else referring to any past issues.

I'm sure on a business level you can appreciate why we have to take this line Punto.

[Bob]

P.S. Surely it is now up to the suppliers etc based on past performance to make their own mind up whether to give him credit or not? Up to staff to choose whether to work there or not? I'm sure there is plenty of info out there in the public domain that can help them to make their decision.

[alex]

if we had to boycott restaurants because the chef owed people money or mistreated someone, we'd have nowhere to eat. chefs are all cokefiend egomaniacal psychopaths and terrible businessmen. i just care about if their food tastes good.

[Melendez]

So no entrepeneur who failed the first time, or even the second, should be allowed another opportunity? That doesn't sound like the capatilist Punto we know and love.

I'd imagine suppliers\backers will be wary enough of leaving themselves open to Mr Gallagher, which would make life harder for him starting now that the average bear. I'm not saying he deserves especially favourable media attention, but if he comes up with a good concept and sells a good product I don't see why the critics shouldn't pronounce it so.

[punto]

"The Capitalist Punto we know and love" Melendez, I think that's a compliment and if it's not, I'm taking it as one!

My point has been missed. I am telling you all now that this idiot will do the exact same as he has previously done in his last two ventures. ie, go bust and watch others suffer. He is walking back here knowing damn well that the media will flock to him as it will be another excuse to sell their products. If one critic was to openly say that they refuse to grace his door, I think that they would gain far more respect. No one doubts his cooking ability but what ever money he has gotten his hands on to start this venture should be removed from him immediately to pay past bills. Its appauling that he can do this again. Like Mcgrath, he should be hired by a top hotel and removed from any business decisions. I will disclose my identity if I am wrong on this one, thats how strogly I feel about the blatant smugness of this man to do what he is doing.

"chefs are all cokefiend egomaniacal psychopaths and terrible businessmen." - Alex, you've made some very good points over the while so I'll ignore that comment. I started as a chef and my bank balance and blood samples would end that arguement. My friends are the best judges whether or not if I'm a psychopath.

I hate when something is pre-empted and nothing is done about it. This restaurant will point blank fail and I dont need anyone to tell me to give him a chance in case I'm wrong because I'm not. Actually Alex, you're right about the ego!

[alex]

sorry punto i was just stirring shit. you do have a good point - it is a disgrace what these guys get away with.

[Old Tart]

Whatever about the viability of his new enterprise, I agree completely with you about the media coverage, particularly of the sort that has Barry Egan's name attached to it. If Gallagher is lucky enough to get people to back him, suppliers to supply him and people to work for him then good luck to him. What we don't need to see is weekly reports of him, what a great guy he is, what a brilliant chef etc etc. I would've thought that it would be in his best interests to keep as low a profile as possible - to succeed (or fail) based on his talents rather than on his reputation.

[unclepat]

I think he will find difficult enough to do the business in that location and find suppliers willing to supply him. I understand your feelings towards him Punto but I don't think any kind of media bycott is justified nor healthy.

[sean_dru]

Ireland is fourth world where food and celebrities are concerned, i dont accept it but i do understand it, congratulations to who made it into the dubliners 100 best restaurants, i was left out this year, i have not fallen in standards and some ''restaurants'' that have been put into it this year are downright shite, its not that im bitter i am honestly not, couldnt care less because it made no difference to my bottom line last year, the point i would like to make is that up till i think august we where featued as one of the great food haunts around in the magazine, i was asked to advertise frequently and i refused as basically its not within my budget this year, i dont have any backers and anything i achieve i do through hard work and the fear of failure is always close by, anyway my point is, i dont take any publications or papers seriously in this counytry anymore, its just a bizzarre run little country with people who settle for to little. so it CG can get away it why not, fuck it everyone else seems to have no shame in this country so why not? if backers back him, well thats your answer and if suppliers supply him well they know the risk, so as for a media black out, i dont think so, he is big news in a small country, just as some third rate model with goosepimples in stephens green is.

[unclepat]

I don't think the picture is quite as bleak as all that Sean. I think those restaurants who employ PR companies tend to get the lions share of the media coverage and some tend to inexplicably pop up on "best of" lists. If you were paying top whack to a PR company, I'm sure you'd expect plenty of exposure too. It's the same in every industry, in every country.
I totally agree that CG's backers & suppliers are walking into this venture with their eyes wide open and will have no one to blame but themselves if it doesn't work out.

[sean_dru]

I never said it was bleak, far from it, my achiements will be done the right way (hopefully) im not saying ireland is bleak concerning food, it is not as it has advanced very quickly, one walk around caterway in smithfield will tell you that compared to say 20 years ago, its the whole logic and reason behind media profiling, i dont agree about other countries, i have lived in many countries and cities ie: London & new york for long lenghts of time and there is a defo a more complex way of profiling the smaller guy (independent restaurant) and there is a real culture of finding a diamond in the rough so to speak, here its the same old same old, regardless of PR companies. one pico is a good example, i always kept an eye on that restaurant for years as i really like it as a restaurant and for years (i think) eamonn scraped by and was generally ignored by alot of media types and its only the last year that he is getting what he deserves in the way of media coverage.

[foodfiend]

In all seriousness Barry Egan is certainly not a creditable journalist hes a gossip columnist who obviously befriended Conrad on one of his many visits to Renards so I would not read too much into the creditability or content of the article. As far as Gallagher being allowed any credit by suppliers I very much doubt it 7 day direct debit is about all he would get from anyone and a payment plan to pay back what he owes is the only way he will be supplied down here. However there are so many suppliers from the north down here currently supplying restaurants he may well have no such problems getting supplied. Certainly does not make it right though to put a new set of companies at his disposal to be screwed once more. No way he can succeed he will have half the MD's from all the companies he did one on coming in to eat for free to recoup.

[unclepat]

one pico is a good example, i always kept an eye on that restaurant for years as i really like it as a restaurant and for years (i think) eamonn scraped by and was generally ignored by alot of media types and its only the last year that he is getting what he deserves in the way of media coverage.

That's my point exactly Sean. If Eamonn took the decision years ago to employ a big PR company, he'd have been in every newspaper and magazine for as long as he was paying them. Personally, I think the more sustainable route to go is to is the one he chose and which you obviously have i.e work hard at your business and establish a customer base over a long period. I'm a firm believer that if you have a quality product at the right price, you will have a successful long term business.
All the PR fluff in the world won't help if your product isn't good enough. There have been one or two high profile examples of this in Dublin over the last 12 months.

[sean_dru]

Spot on UP, just that it annoys me alot, i am not saying i deserve to be in 100 best restaurants in dublin in any form whether thats Dubliner or Bridgestones etc, honestly i have only eaten in about 50 restaurants in Dublin in total, i think maybe to pick 100 best restaurants in Dublin is completly impossible without a gigantic financial backing, most companies will say that a restaurant is reviewed 3 times before a decision is made, but 3 times x say a conservative 1000 restaurants is a huge outlay that could not be made up throught selling of guides, so whats real and what isnt is very cloudy. it is very much the same with awards, i mean how is it a fair and democratic process when eating and spending time in a restaurant and judging it costs alot of money for said companies, so they obviously choose just say 30 restaurants and procede to judge from that amount therefore in my opinion devoiding said awards of any real value.
anyway i dont consider this of topic, it has to do with the way the media see things, fair play to CG if he gets free publicity and the media give it to him, when oportunity knocks and all that, its more our fault as a nation than his, personaly i think there should be an award for paying your taxes.

on a brighter note, only 6 months left of the recession!!! funny how this came out three weeks before the budget.

[Melendez]

Re the 100 best restaurants guide.

I listened to someone on the radio being interviewed (doing PR) for the guide and it became obvious after about five seconds how much he was at pains to say how many restaurants had been dropped from last year. He was quite rude about the restaurants that were dropped (didn't change with the times, complacent etc), but it was entirely transparent that the reason he was going overboard about the number of changes was that there would be no interest in the guide if there weren't any or enough.

Edit; The rudeness seems to be a marketing ploy, spreading to interviews in the Herald. 30 restaurants don't go en masse from being the tops to being "over-priced", "poor service", "stuck back in 1997". Mr trainer would be better served promoting his books by letting us know what the new places have to offer rather than dissing the ones left out. "you can't run a whole restaurant based on the quality of your chicken wings" - how did Elephant and Castle ever get in then?

Interesting that the King Sitric is considered a newcomer by the Herald. I remember being told that was too expensive to go to when I was in short pants.

http://www.herald.ie/national-news/city-news/overpriced-bad-service-stuck-in-the-past--top-restaurants-ditched-from-influential-guide-1933214.html

[meatmonger]

All the PR fluff in the world won't help if your product isn't good enough. There have been one or two high profile examples of this in Dublin over the last 12 months.

would you be able to share the ones you are thinking about?

[unclepat]

would you be able to share the ones you are thinking about?

Sorry MM, I could but I won't!

[chefsmith]

I've been dwelling on this a few days punto and my gut reaction is the same, nobody has the right to boycott or indeed put pressure on others to boycott another chef.

If a supplier now gives him credit, and one of them will, and they are aware of his past mistakes then the risk is on them, they are choosing to offer credit. I wuold be surprised if he gets 30 days credit within 12 months though.

I cant quite say the same for staff who might lose their jobs, most people looking for work will jump at the chance, and im sure a few would even love to leave a steady job to work with Conrad, but this is all speculation on your part, and what if this media boycott is enough to close his doors, he hasn't been given a fair chance, i would not wish that upon anyone.

OT
Punto, i was talking to a feller couple of weeks ago and we both agreed we'd love to track you down and have a few scoops with you, we reckon we've nailed you down to the tralee/ killarney area, were we warm??? I lived down that way for a few years, i keep wondering of our paths crossed

[Ernie Whalley]

I've been watching this thread with interest since Punto made the first post.
While I have sympathy with his views I feel my prime duty as a restaurant critic is to point the dining public in the direction of good food. My second is to prevent them eating bad food.
Helping prevent gullible suppliers from getting conned by improvident restaurateurs, however morally laudable, is not part of my remit, I'm afraid.
Anyhow, surely CG's track record as a restaurateur is in the public domain by now? It's up to suppliers as to whether they are prepared to take what must be regarded as a commercial risk and provide him with goods There's bugger all us critics can do about it.