I would imagine that you know who John Tesar is if you A) live in Dallas, B) are familiar with Texas chefs or C) are a devoted Top Chef viewer. Tesar owns the popular Dallas steakhouse Knife and he’s in the process of opening up three more eateries. He also competed on Season 13 of Top Chef and he once worked with Anthony Bourdain at the Supper Club. Bourdain is the reason why I’m covering this – as we’ve noted many times, Bourdain sees himself as the overgrown enfant terrible of American cuisine. In the past few years, Boudain has notably targeted Paula Deen, Guy Fieri, Alton Brown and more. Bourdain judges your Big Mac and your pumpkin spice latte. But as it turns out, a lot of professional chefs and restaurant owners judge the hell out of Bourdain too. Chefs like… John Tesar! Tesar gave a fascinating interview to Playboy, which you can read here. Some of the questions are very inside-baseball and the references (to other Texan chefs, etc) went over my head. But the Bourdain stuff is particularly interesting. Some highlights:
Why Tesar won’t open a restaurant in NYC: “Everybody I know in New York is struggling because of the taxes and the rents and the cost of food. And the threat of minimum waging going to $15 an hour. That’s the stupidest thing in the world. The minimum wage should be higher than it is, but it’s going to lead to downsizing in the restaurant business. When I’m hiring a guy for $9 an hour, I’ll cut him some slack. I don’t care if he’s hungover; he’s washing dishes. But if I have a dishwasher making $15 an hour, he’s basically going to learn how to do f–king everything back there. We’ll see what happens.”
Why he feels like he can slam Bourdain: “I’ve been around four generations in the restaurant business and I’ve worked with and know everybody. That’s why I can sh-t on Bourdain. He’s awesome. But at the same time we feud back and forth all the time. He’s mad at me because I made a comment about his new wife and so then she got mad at me.”
What did he say about Bourdain’s wife? “I made a comment about his first wife on The Braiser, and his new wife got pissed off. She wears the pants. Trust me. He’s always been dragged around by his d–k. A lot of guys are. It’s nice that he always marries women with strong personalities to take care of him because then he can just wander around, get stoned, drink and tell stories. He’s like f–king Ernest Hemingway.”He likes Bourdain but he doesn’t think Bourdain can cook: “If you really have an intellectual debate with him, you’ll learn that he’s an amazing writer and storyteller and probably one of the sh–tiest chefs that ever lived. The guy can’t cook his way out of a paper bag. Everywhere he goes he makes Portuguese fish stew, beef bourguignon or he brings Eric Ripert with him to do something. Look, what annoys me about chefs is fraudulent behavior, over-hyped food and ego, and I’ve been guilty of all of it myself. So now that I’ve gotten older, I just don’t want to be that type of person any longer.”
The whole Playboy interview is a funny read – Tesar is bitchy and quotable, and what I’ve learned over the years is that restaurant/chef drama is where all of the really juicy, spicy gossip happens. Chef drama is SO much crazier than Hollywood drama, honestly. As for what Tesar actually says about Bourdain, I think he’s probably dead-on. Bourdain’s strength is as a storyteller, a “personality,” a food-centric bon vivant. But Bourdain doesn’t have the ability or patience to really have a full-time career as a restaurateur, so it’s pretty douchey of him to take a dump on those people who do find some kind of success there.
Photos courtesy of Getty, WENN.
regardless of what he said about Bourdain’s cooking, this guy sounds like a major d-bag who goes around insulting people and taking low blows. Insulting people’s wives, saying so and so is dragged around by his d*ck? sounds like he’s just jelly in general of bourdain’s noted success. also, what he says about lowly dishwashers and living wages is also dismissive and kind of callous.
Interesting write up from a few years ago. This guys definitely sounds like a hot mess!
http://www.dmagazine.com/publications/d-magazine/2011/september/john-tesar-the-most-hated-chef-in-dallas?single=1
How much does he think HE needs to make?
It’s nasty to begrudge people a living wage.
Bourdain’s pretty open about not being a top tier chef. He went for quick money instead of taking the time to stage in top restaurants.
And what does that mean, dragged around by his d-k? Bourdain actually cares about his wife’s opinion and that’s so terrible?
One Hundred Natalie. Well said.
This. He has always said he’s an adequate chef. And he adores his wife and child. Not seeing a problem from my end with any of that.
Tesar is also the guy who is going to have investment partners to pay for his restaurants. endorsements and cookbook deals and making a gazillion dollars for being a better than average but not amazing chef and he doesn’t want the people who work for him to make a living wage. So yeah, he can go pound sand.
Yeah, Bourdain often says he’s not an amazing chef. But his travel/food show is one of the best I’ve seen. He’s a great story teller and very carismatic. He also came across as a nice guy on The Taste.
Agreed on all points. Bourdain is pretty self-deprecating, and seems to know his place and niche well. I don’t really have an interest to watch him cook either, I just like his travel shows because they are very interesting.
Ditto from me, too. Tony openly states that he’s not an amazing chef. But guess what? He loves the life, loves the people who work in kitchens, and isn’t afraid to call BS when he sees it. If half the chefs and “tv cooking personalities” who he smacks down could hear what jobbing kitchen lifers say about them, they wouldn’t be so quick to be nasty towards Tony. Seriously.
Mr. Delphi once waded across the lagoon at the grown-up section of DisneyWorld to tell Emeril Lagasse that he was a “pretentious, sodium-happy hack”. Given that Mr. Delphi looks like Bourdain’s bastard son, it seems even more appropriate.
She’s a martial arts expert from Brazil so probably not the Barbie Doll this guy prefers.
Actually his wife is Italian. They had a segment on cooking in Italy with his wife’s family. Yes, she does martial arts. They had a segment on that as well. I am a super fan of Bourdain since reading Kitchen Confidential.
I have no idea who this Bitter Betty is but I loved his expression that AB is dragged about by his nether appendage. That could be said of a lot of men regardless of age/job/station in life. The bottom photo brings to mind the cryptkeeper and his popsie. Do these silly men not realise how ridiculous they make themselves look paired up with their grand-daughters friends?
As I said earlier, it is a cold, gray, rainy morning!
I watch the Bourdain show from time to time and find it amusing. That said, I have the impression that he really is not the best chef out there. But what do I know, I love making beef bourguignon in the winter. It’s one of my ‘signature’ dishes.
I also got the impression that his wife is a very strong personality and calls the shots. That’s fine, it’s just rather surprising because Bourdain seems so opinionated and pushy on his show, it seems a bit out of character.
He does seem a bit like a modern day Hemingway!
Cue Bourdain cooking something in paper as a clever retort. It is a common method after all!
“dragged around by his dick”
Is that what respecting women is called these days?
I love Anthony.
If that pic is John Tesar, he really looks like Yotam Ottolenghi.
Wow, it really does look like Ottolengj! One of our TV networks here recently started their 24-hour food channel, so I’m becoming familiar with all your American chefs and cooks. Marco Pierre White is still my favourite, though…
Mr Tesar’s comments on minimum wages for restaurant staff are a bit much for me. My son worked as a dish pig for a while while studying. It was in a bistro, and he was paid $19 per hour. Here in Australia, all wages are protected by the Fair Work Australia authority. We have a thriving restaurant and food culture/industry, so hearing what most in this sector in the US are paid is quite shocking to us.
That’s because it is Yotam Ottolenghi. I’ve looked at pics of Tesar and the pic accompanying this article isn’t him. By the way Ottolenghi isn’t American.
Yes, I did the same, didn’t know this Tesar guy but he and Ottolenghi look nothing alike, not sure why they’d mix up the pictures!
I never find Bourdain douchey. Bitchy yes, but a kind of bitchy that’s witty and funny. This guy is a good bitchy too, but some of his views on women iare pretty effed up and basically he is mocking Bourdain for having strong women around him like he’s less than a man for it. Bourdain at least never comes off sexist, at least in the things I have seen of him, but maybe I just haven’t watched enough.
It’s a low blow to go after someone’s wife in the media, she was just defending herself from a tasteless and intrusive comment that was none of Tesar’s business. If he’d read Bourdain’s book he’d realize that she doesn’t drag him around by his dick, they truly love each other and dote on their daughter. He admits she’s the best thing to have happened to him. Some men need a strong woman and if Bourdain is man enough to admit it, good for him. Sounds like someone’s jelly that he’s made a lucrative career not by food alone but by exploring food through people, places, cultures and history with a knowledgeable perspective. It’s a free country John, last time I checked people could actually have great success by creating an interesting TV program aimed a bit higher than competitive cooking.
What was the comment? It sounded like he said something flattering about the first wife and the second wife got upset. Or did he say something about the May-December relationship between wife No. 2 and Bourdain. I’m confused.
He said: “I’m like, in the category of Nancy. We helped him, but he can’t — we know him, so he doesn’t want us around him. Because, let’s take me out of the equation: if he was still doing what he does now, and Nancy was still behind him, she would just shout out, ‘Fucking bullshit on you, Tony.’ ”
I’ve read some of his rants on The Braiser and he is truly a mean, nasty piece of work – he’s gotten into vicious twitter wars with other chefs and food critics, even banned one from his restaurant because she DARED to give him a mediocre review. He just needs to STFU and do his thing without all the histrionics and bad-mouthing.
I don’t care if Anthony Bourdain is chef or not; he’s interesting.
My favorite thing about Anthony is he can wear the shit out of a pair of jeans and flip flops on his travel shows.
This is true. He has lost some weight in his abdomen in the last year too. I bet he’s working out.
The Knife is just OK as far as steakhouses in Dallas go (give me Bob’s, Pappas Bros., Nick & Sam’s’, III Forks, even Ser before I’d go back to The Knife for more than just HH) … it’s in a soul-less hotel in one of the most soul-less parts of Dallas, which is easily the most soul-less city in Texas.
So, I guess it’s pretty fitting for this d-bag.
So much yes!
Strong willed men are “Go getters”, “leaders”, “power players”, etc. Strong willed women are “bi*ches, c**ts, on the rag…” It’s annoying as hell.
ME-OW. Seriously, this guy just sounds like he’s talking smack for more attention.
He lost me at complaining about the minimum wage going up to $15 an hour. How dare people make a “living” wage to support themselves and their families. Rich jerk.
Me too. What he’s saying isn’t a valid argument–you pay people more, you get people who will stay, work hard, be good employees. You get what you pay for.
I don’t know who John Tesar is, but that is a picture of Yotam Ottolenghi. You should change it.
“Bourdain doesn’t have the ability or patience to really have a full-time career as a restaurateur”
Ummm…Bourdain has run kitchens and been Executive Chef at several restaurants. He does more punditry NOW, but the reason anyone listened to him in the first place is because he has had a long successful career as a chef. He’s almost 60, his career is 4 decades long.
Just look up anything about Tesar’s past or watch him on Top Chef. He’s not a good person and his career bears that out. He’s jealous and thirsty. It’s really that simple.
I remember him not so much for Top Chef itself but for letting everyone know that he was Jimmy Sears in the book Kitchen Confidential. Just curious if his M.O. is to trot out Bourdain’s name to garner attention…
John Tesar is the Gordon Ramsay of Dallas….a childish ego maniac with a big mouth.
I used to quite enjoy Bourdain’s show but he’s like a petulant, over grown, super-judgy teenager who tries way too hard to be “cool”. It was fun for a while but every show he does is the same and after a while it gets really boring. We get it, you’re hip and anti establishment, but really, you’re a grown man, get over it. This Texan guy might be an ass in his own right, but I honestly think he got Bourdain spot on.
That is Yotam Ottolenghi in the top picture, not John Tesar.
Is this guy a seventh grade girl? Also Anthony is always saying his cooking is nowhere close to certain chefs and disparaging his own skills. This guy is a jealous bitter bob.
<3Anthony Bourdain<3 and this guy needs to cut it out. Anything is very self deprecating; his shows are consistently interesting and engaging…He doesn't take himself too seriously and his wife looks like someone who is assertive but tons of fun. Yeah, to me this guy seems burned up that Anthony is way hotter, more successful, and cooler than he is. Owning a steakhouse in Dallas is like owning a lobster shack in Maine… It's just…
Omg… calm down Lala … this is about to get bloody.
First, I stopped reading at when this idiot was barking over 15 bucks per hour … in NYC … LA? Bitch please. Why these idiots treat 15.00 (the threat!!) as a costly wage? It’s just a living wage. You should be paying YOUR employees a reasonable living wage. Why treat 15 bucks as a middle class wage when it’s just a living wage?? If you can’t afford to pay at least 15 bucks per hour, you have NO business being in business. GREEDY LOSERS.
FURTHER MORE:
Anyone making any wage should do a quality job as it is. But this idiot fails to appreciate paying his employees quality LIVABLE wages. He is among those who DO NOT deserve a business if he thinks like that. I agree that Bourdain may be an overrated cook from what I’ve heard about him in certain circles …. though I don’t KNOW that as truth. But I respect him more for being a proponent for a living wage that this unattractive, yucky, overrated loser, Tesar. Oooh I am steaming mad… need to grab some wine now.
I love this guy! I’ve also always been a huge fan of Bourdain but I completely agree with how his friend describes him. I’ve only seen Bourdain cook once on his show and he was nervous as all get out. His strength is as a personality & storyteller. I like them both and I can only imagine Bourdain can’t bash a guy who knows him so well & calls him on it while praising him at the same time.