Never Piss Off The Chef!
After being away for at least a year or more (?), I dropped into my fave Italian restaurant in Chicago last Saturday - Buona Terra in Logan Square. I've been going there for years, back when that little area on California was pretty damn seedy, before the Starbuck's and sushi restaurant and gourmet food shop, etc.
The chef/owner is Chepe Garcia, a very talented chef & savvy businessman - and also a Mexican. Chepe has a TON of fans, including Mayor Daley (they got their liquor license faster than ANY restaurant I've ever heard of, approx. 30 days), and many many many well-connected, wealthy people who have the resources to eat anywhere they'd like... and still go there as regulars. He's also one of my favorite bartenders (when the mood suits him), but that's a different conversation.
It was a little slow, so Chepe was bartending and had time to chat, and I saw a side of him I'd never seen before; luckily, that previously unseen street edge was directed at one of his regulars who lacked the common sense to know when to shut up, and also broke the main rule of any restaurant: Don't piss off the chef.
This regular was sitting next to me at the bar, and said he was a retired TV & film producer, blah blah blah. I found out later his $ came from his daddy, plus him selling some property he inherited from his daddy when the market was strong. Yeah.
I was probably responsible for kicking off the topic: Mexican head chefs who work in high-end European restaurants and hotels, very common in the U.S.
At that moment, this "producer" decided to share his politics on illegal immigrants, especially Mexicans. I'm pretty sure he'd never seen Chepe get it going like that, either.
Chepe pretty much gave a clinic on the perspective of illegal immigrant Mexicans, a lot of which I'd never considered. He pointed out that Mexicans come to America for one reason: They get hired by thousands of businesses all over the country, and would never come here if there was no work. He pointed out that you don't really see any Mexicans going to Guatamala, or other depressed locations. They do jobs a lot of people here won't - he said he'd NEVER had any caucasians apply for a cooking job at his restaurant. He also pointed out that, while many illegals were Mexican, the same was also true for people from Ireland, England, Australia, Brazil, etc.
Regarding illegals using fake social security numbers: He says taxes are nonetheless taken out of their paychecks, and paid into the system regardless, which the illegals will never see a dime of on the back end. In fact, Chepe believes that this is well-known by politicians, who are happy to see BILLIONS of dollars coming into the system, which never needs to be paid back to anyone.
And what about all the drug cartels in Mexico, says the producer? Chef: If nobody bought their drugs in the U.S., how long do you think they would stay in business? And if you were a cop and someone offered you a million dollars or more to look the other way, what would YOU do? Or what if someone threatened to kill not only you, but your whole family, if you didn't cooperate? What then?
As Chepe hit his stride and refused to be interrupted, a light bulb went off somewhere, and the "producer" started to realize he was THISCLOSE to getting his ass 86'd from place, shut up, paid his bill and hit the road. After he left, Chepe shared some other thoughts and facts about this guy, which revealed and confirmed the "producer's" status as more knucklehead/poseur than producer/director.
I personally was glad to witness this side of chef, glad to get a different perspective on this very contentious issue, and mostly glad it wasn't me who pissed him off.
The chef/owner is Chepe Garcia, a very talented chef & savvy businessman - and also a Mexican. Chepe has a TON of fans, including Mayor Daley (they got their liquor license faster than ANY restaurant I've ever heard of, approx. 30 days), and many many many well-connected, wealthy people who have the resources to eat anywhere they'd like... and still go there as regulars. He's also one of my favorite bartenders (when the mood suits him), but that's a different conversation.
It was a little slow, so Chepe was bartending and had time to chat, and I saw a side of him I'd never seen before; luckily, that previously unseen street edge was directed at one of his regulars who lacked the common sense to know when to shut up, and also broke the main rule of any restaurant: Don't piss off the chef.
This regular was sitting next to me at the bar, and said he was a retired TV & film producer, blah blah blah. I found out later his $ came from his daddy, plus him selling some property he inherited from his daddy when the market was strong. Yeah.
I was probably responsible for kicking off the topic: Mexican head chefs who work in high-end European restaurants and hotels, very common in the U.S.
At that moment, this "producer" decided to share his politics on illegal immigrants, especially Mexicans. I'm pretty sure he'd never seen Chepe get it going like that, either.
Chepe pretty much gave a clinic on the perspective of illegal immigrant Mexicans, a lot of which I'd never considered. He pointed out that Mexicans come to America for one reason: They get hired by thousands of businesses all over the country, and would never come here if there was no work. He pointed out that you don't really see any Mexicans going to Guatamala, or other depressed locations. They do jobs a lot of people here won't - he said he'd NEVER had any caucasians apply for a cooking job at his restaurant. He also pointed out that, while many illegals were Mexican, the same was also true for people from Ireland, England, Australia, Brazil, etc.
Regarding illegals using fake social security numbers: He says taxes are nonetheless taken out of their paychecks, and paid into the system regardless, which the illegals will never see a dime of on the back end. In fact, Chepe believes that this is well-known by politicians, who are happy to see BILLIONS of dollars coming into the system, which never needs to be paid back to anyone.
And what about all the drug cartels in Mexico, says the producer? Chef: If nobody bought their drugs in the U.S., how long do you think they would stay in business? And if you were a cop and someone offered you a million dollars or more to look the other way, what would YOU do? Or what if someone threatened to kill not only you, but your whole family, if you didn't cooperate? What then?
As Chepe hit his stride and refused to be interrupted, a light bulb went off somewhere, and the "producer" started to realize he was THISCLOSE to getting his ass 86'd from place, shut up, paid his bill and hit the road. After he left, Chepe shared some other thoughts and facts about this guy, which revealed and confirmed the "producer's" status as more knucklehead/poseur than producer/director.
I personally was glad to witness this side of chef, glad to get a different perspective on this very contentious issue, and mostly glad it wasn't me who pissed him off.
Labels: buona terra restaurant, chepe garcia
