It’s a catchy title, people. It wasn’t that bad.
But really, it was our worst showing ever, food-wise.
Lack-luster dishes and poor timing downgraded Chef Jennie and her line cooks from a coveted 3 star Michelin rating to two. In the aftermath of evening’s worst performance, the board was scrambling to make sweeping changes that included moving the Chef to a less prominent role and reducing the number of dishes offered to a more manageable amount.
Chef Jennie was not available for comment, but sources have seen her mingling with other backers. It’s widely known that Jennie has long-lobbied the New Year’s board for a broader range of ethnicities on the menu, complaining bitterly that Betty Crocker’s 1981 Chinese Cooking with recipes by LeeAnn Chin, featuring crowd favorite Sesame Chicken, and this year’s bust, “Beef with Noodles,” are passé and should not be the starting point for the creative direction of New Year’s.
The Chef has been laying low in Watertown, likely recuperating from the ordeal. A close friend of the family said, “Jennie is hardly cooking at all these days. It’s clear from her blog that she loves to cook, but this has hit her hard.” A parent of the Chef’s daughter’s best friend’s little sister had this to say, “I don’t know what’s so great about Chef Jennie. She should stick to gardening.”
Time will tell the fate of New Year’s. With the graduation and departure of two key board members to college, one of whom reached the milestone age of 21, it’s anyone’s guess if this debacle will be the tipping point for the company. The board was keeping quiet on the subject, but at least one key analyst wonders if those two board members will even return unless the Chef turns control over to the board.
–Associated Press Syndication © January 2012
