Chef Benjamin Sukle of The Dorrance – A Chat on Video

4 Responses to Chef Benjamin Sukle of The Dorrance – A Chat on Video

1. Sanders says:

   December 16, 2011 at 6:20 pm

   Thanks Doc for the video. I love how you are always “discovering” these up and coming chefs (for me at least). Not sure how you find them, but keep it up because I mostly agree with your recs.

   The Dorrance looks great and is only a short trip from me in CT.

   Reply
2. Marc says:

   January 16, 2012 at 7:45 pm

   Good video … I’m happy for Chef Ben,he seems like a talented up and comer. the statements he makes at the end of the video however are out and out lies … when chef ben first walked into that kitchen it was almost fully assembled … that picture that he shows was taken months before Ben got there and it was taken by the first chef the Lesters hired …the one who cleaned, assembled, built and wrestled with equipment. He was then unceremoniously let go so Ben could be hired. This is of course the nature of this tough business, it just makes me sad when someone who has obviously worked his hardest to open a restaurant (and that is a LOT of work) also try and take credit for work that others have done before him.

   Reply
   • Ben says:

     January 18, 2012 at 12:29 pm

     Marc,

     In the interest of this not turning into a spat between what you did and what I did I’ll address it simply, because what you wanted to assemble was probably different from what I envisioned. What was in the kitchen when I took the job that was offered to me was a kitchen that was completely unequipped for lunch, dinner and events. Almost all of the equipment had to be either disassembled, replaced, fixed, traded or just simply gotten rid of. What we were essentially left with was a kitchen with a low BTU stove, oven, 2 refrigeration units and 2 pieces of equipment for banquets. That’s it. Electricians had to re-wire and install all new outlets in the entire kitchen, plumbers had to come in and rework all of the gas outlets and install new hookups. The Ansul System had to be completely reworked and licensed. Walls knocked down. Not to mention all of the small wares, small equipment and shelves that had to be purchased or replaced. All this had to be done in order for us to pass and acquire the Health and Fire Marshall’s inspection that hadn’t been passed yet. I’m sure I’m missing some key items. These are not things that I’m saying you didn’t do due to lack of knowledge or were completely unaware you had to do, just things that I had to in less than a month. However, since you chose to come on public domain and call out lies, I felt it necessary to point out that the kitchen was nowhere near readiness to produce for lunch, dinner and events. Therefore, in effect, not only did I have to put an entire kitchen back together in 3 weeks, I first had to disassemble what I walked into. I have not discredited you or called out lies, nor should you. Hope this clears some of the air.

     Reply
3. Amy Johannessen says:

   January 18, 2012 at 5:22 pm

   Don’t sweat the sour grapes, Ben. Keep up the good work. The right people who should be watching are watching.

   Reply

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