boulud        rebuchon      Vong      kennedy    ramsey    Mcewan       white


Vancouver is crowing over its ability to attract New York superstars Jean-Georges Vongerichten and Daniel Boulud to open restaurants there.

just a minute, these restaurants are gonna be the equivalent of Mcdonald franchises, tonier of course and far more expensive.  Ronald McDonald's sent out to scout new venues and does a little tap dancing to get the folks in and then buzzes off to find more venues. Ditto star chefs. Or rather, staf chefs' companies.

I want to eat the real thing not a canny replica. I can't believe all the Atelier Rebuchons now opened round the world keep up their standards after the star has come and gone. In London, Gordon Ramsey and Marco Pierre White have slapped their name on what are becoming chains of restaurants, and in Toronto, Mark McEwan's restaurants include N44, Bymark, and One , Jamie Kennedy has JK Winebar and JK at the Gardiner,and another opening at the Brickworks.

Chefs franchise themselves to make money. Fair enough. The star brand name pulls in the customers. But it also diverts money from local restaurants and saps energy out of new ones struggling to be recognized in an increasingly competitive scene.

I'm a locavore when it comes to chefs.