Monday, March 2, 2009
Restaurants Joel not returning to Joel
Posted by Besha Rodell @BeshaRodell on Mon, Mar 2, 2009 at 5:03 PM
This just in from the PR folks representing Joel (the restaurant, not the guy):
JOËL: CHEF HOLOTA WEIGHS IN ON FRIEND’S CONTROVERSIAL DEPARTURE
Chef and Managing Partner of JOËL Restaurant Announces Reaction from Chef Antunes Leave from The Oak Room at the Plaza Hotel
ATLANTA (Mar. 2, 2009) – JOËL Restaurant’s Executive Chef and Managing Partner, Cyrille Holota, sets the record straight regarding the future of Joël Antunes’ eponymous restaurant, JOËL. Over the last two days numerous media outlets have reported that Chef Joël Antunes has stepped down as Executive Chef at New York’s lauded Plaza Hotel’s Oak Room, leaving many to wonder if he will return to his namesake restaurant in Atlanta. Holota confirms that Antunes will not be returing to JOËL Restaurant and is not affiliated with the restaurant any longer.
Antunes announced his move to the Oak Room on February 26, 2008 and named longtime friend and Chef de Cuisine, Holota, Executive Chef of JOËL. The restaurant’s ownership was so pleased with Holota’s impressive performance that he was named Managing Patner in the following months. Antunes departure from the Oak Room has no relevance to the happenings of JOËL Restaurant in Atlanta.
“Joël was and always will be a magnificant chef and friend. My staff and I wish him the best of luck in whatever he does in the future. I am very pleased with the new direction that JOËL has been going and I believe that we have added menu items that will please guests,” says Holota.
Comments (12)
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mincemeat you have to read the previous comments. (1st) but im glad that someone agrees with me.
Perhaps it was poorly done but it was necessary. And the two are great friends. The day Joel received his review from Frank Bruni Cyrille and the staff at Joel were devastated for him, but at the same time they are doing better then they have ever done.
Hello, in response to the statement being bad advice, I am happy to discuss. I have been a close friend (and coincidentally I am a partner in the PR firm you decided to question) of the restaurant JOEL, Chef Joel Antunes and Chef Cyrille Holota for just shy of 10 years. I have received 34 calls within the last week about whether or not Joel Antunes would be coming back to Atlanta and assuming his former post. Unless you are applying to come in and answer the phones, I would watch the arm chair quarterbacking and understand that there are a great many people concerned about this wonderful chef's intentions -- and the fate of one of the city's best restaurants.
Elizabeth, this was an oppertunity to sit back and not say anything...you are the PR of the resteraunt, not the person , ( Joel). Waiting until the dust settled before making a anouncment, that sounded ...well, snarky...would have been better. Cyrille is doing great where he is at, but we will all, ( at least the foodies I know)l remember that he was taught by Joel. And I think you get paid to answer questions, no ? No comment would have been better...from my armchair...
This is the last from my camp on this topic but I plan to set the record straight here -- Joel Antunes, Nicolas Sangros and JOEL Restaurant were all top of mind when the statement was issued. I think this is a better debate for another forum such as Seth Godin's blog but here you go: I was asked the night of the announcement by Nicolas Sangros to issue a statement on behalf of he and Joel Antunes -- "and to answer questions". Keep in mind that my client is JOEL Restaurant so if I answered on behalf of Sangros and Antunes that I am somewhat in conflict with my client...so, I said no comment 34 times to both local and national media. I was asked by the owner (and my client) of JOEL to issue a statement yesterday. It wasn't something that I felt comfortable doing unless Antunes was treated in the best light possible. Note that he was my client for 7 years prior to taking the position at the Oak Room. I issued the statement from my client with respect for my friend in mind. Let's move this off of Besha's board and take it to a proper place for this forum -- with PR professionals weighing in as well.
I'm a huge fan of Joel, both the man and the restaurant, but everyone needs to lay off of the "statement" issued by the PR folks at JOEL. If you thought that your business would be affected by another person's press, would you not say something? I think that the bad pr advice would have been to say nothing and let people think that the restaurant is going to close. In this economy...no risks should be taken.
I'll stand by my original impression, which as a person who reads a lot of food press and has 15+ years PR/marketing experience, I think is well-informed. They simply overreacted and came off the wrong way. 34 calls is a lot, but needing to have a response does not mean ANY response. Hey, no one bats 1.000. If they were really worried about any taint that Joel's recent troubles may mean for them, they should change the name of the restaurant.
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