The restaurant community is in a heightened state of crisis in all corners of the globe. 50 Best asked a group of chefs to tell the story of their own situation, in their businesses, in their homes, and in their own words
Virgilio Martínez, Central
Lima, Peru
We are just about to enter our 21st day in isolation. We were the first country in South America to start quarantine and our government is dealing with it all relatively well. Peruvians are as happy as they can be with how the situation is being handled.
In Lima, everyone received a letter saying that we needed to stay at home. There was only about eight hours between receiving the letter and quarantine being enforced, so we had to act quickly and decide what to do. Fortunately, we live on the site of our businesses – Central, Kjolle and Mayo – so for Pía [León, Martínez’s wife and chef-owner of Kjolle] and I the decision was easy.
The streets of my neighbourhood are empty. There are no deliveries and we cannot work. The only stores open are those selling medicine and food.
Pía and I are using this time to complete the tasks we have been putting off doing in the restaurant. I didn’t realise that there were so many! Our restaurants are booked by around 80% foreign guests, so we need to use this time to come up with some new ideas for local guests when we are able to reopen.
The relationship we are developing with our young son Cristobal is very special. While we can’t deny the situation is really bad here and everywhere else, we are seeing it as an opportunity to spend time together as a family in a way that we have previously not been able to. I am also speaking to my family a lot more. My father and I discuss the news at 8am before I speak to my mother and other friends. I am trying to use this time to reflect.
We are also investing in our research centre Mater Iniciativa and our restaurant and farm, Mil, in Cusco. Here we grow around 50% of the produce for our restaurants – grains, quinoa, vegetables and 160 varieties of potatoes and tubers. We usually divide the crops up where the local farmers take half and we take half, but for this May’s harvest we are giving 95% to the farmers and their families. The other 5% we will keep for their seeds and research.
Virgilio Martínez and the site for his base in Cusco, Peru
Fortunately, our government has offered to support 30% of workers’ wages. As a group of restaurants, we started a community of owners and mostly agreed that Peru has larger problems to deal with than our restaurant industry, so we will wait before we decide to act. We have to show our empathy to those in a worse position than ourselves.
The whole boom of gastronomy in Peru was started by the empathy we Peruvians feel with one another, our landscape and our produce. Now is the time to show how this empathy can help us heal together.
My message to the world: Take advantage of the free time you have never had before. We will hopefully never have this time again, so make the most of it. Use it do something good. Speak to your family. Do things you don’t usually have time for – read, learn, enjoy yourself and don’t think too much about the future. When we come back, we will need a positive energy among us and we need to be rested and ready to recover.
Tim Raue, Restaurant Tim Raue
Berlin, Germany
In Berlin today we are fighting together, but make no mistake: we are deeply, deeply, in the shit. As you go further south in Germany the situation looks better, but the overall outlook is bleak.
My restaurants are all closed, but last week we started a delivery service. It took us a while to bring the ideas together, but we have come up with a menu and offering that rolls five concepts into one. I’ve called it ‘Fucking Great’.
It offers consumers a lot of choice, a good price and if people use it and like it, it will hopefully help keep our restaurants in business. I’ve also arranged a large loan from the bank. None of the money I get will be going the restaurant; all of it will be for salaries and investing in the staff. The government is offering some help: they are paying 60% of workers’ salaries.
The currently shuttered restaurant and chef Tim Raue in happier times
I am really happy with the way my teams are pulling together. We have front-of-house staff driving the delivery cars and everyone is helping where they can – it is so important for us to keep everyone together.
My message to the world: The things we do today will be those that define what we are able to do tomorrow.
Dominique Crenn, Atelier Crenn
San Francisco, USA
In San Francisco, we have an amazing community. It’s not so long since we went through the fires and we will face this head on, too. We are a community that sticks together, no matter who you are. The food world is like this too – we come together in moments like these.
We were told the other day by the governor of California that we are starting to see the death rate flatten a little. It came as good news and we’re pleased that he took the early decision to close down when he did. Agriculture is the number one industry here and we have a lot of restaurants, everyone needs to be looked after.
Atelier Crenn and Chef Crenn in San Francisco harbour
I’ve closed our three restaurants and we have moved to try and create something affordable that helps look after our farmers in the region. We are selling Crenn Kits for $38, which is a full and nutritious meal. Everything is plant based and nutritionally balanced – being a cancer survivor, it’s very important to me as I honestly believe food can help you heal from the inside. The money we make is being donated to medical workers. A big car brand has also partnered with us and told us they will provide the money for us to make food.
This whole situation is going to make us really think about who we are and what we are doing on this planet as humans. A virus like this could happen again and we need to think about our behaviour in the future. We have to take responsibility as we are guests on this planet and we have disturbed the habitats of wildlife by being greedy. We make and grow food that we just don’t need.
When this is over, I think we will see a surge in local farming and people going back to basics. People need to think about the industrialisation of food and that capitalism may not be the answer. Whatever happens though, we will get through this.
My message to the world: Do not panic. Follow the rules. Be conscious and thoughtful. Bring love and support your neighbour. Know that this will pass and we need to change our behaviour right now. Don’t get angry and pass the blame. Take responsibility. We are all in the shit together.
Rasmus Kofoed, Geranium
Copenhagen, Denmark
We opened our restaurant just after the 2008 financial crisis. That period showed us that if you are able to give everything, you are able to survive. I am having similar emotions today.
I am in shock that the virus travelled so fast. One minute we were reading about the corona crisis in Asia and then, ‘boom’, it was here. Denmark is a small country and our government was focused and fast. We were fortunate that we could learn from other countries. Our Prime Minister is leading the country in a good direction and is also supporting the restaurant industry. They are offering 75% of salaries – I get the impression that they know that they need to invest for the future.
Although we are all very affected by the situation, there are a lot more people around the world having a much harder time than us here in Denmark.
We decided to close the restaurant before we were instructed to. Geranium is run with energy and care and we want to welcome our guests with open arms. Distancing ourselves from our guests felt so wrong. At the end of service on Saturday night, I spoke to Søren [Ledet, Geranium’s wine director and co-owner] and said that I felt that we couldn’t give our guests the best experience under these circumstances. Also, our team was affected by the situation and were worrying for their families. Søren agreed, so we closed the restaurant down.
Rasmus Kofoed and the view from Geranium
My wife is a lawyer and she is still working, so for the first time in my life I am a stay-at-home dad. We have three kids (three, six and eight year-olds). It’s a very different way of life, but I am enjoying spending so much time with my family. We take our time in the morning, I cook for them and then we go outside to discover nature – foraging, going to the beach and looking at the rock formations. We are very lucky to have been blessed with wonderful weather since the lockdown began.
This year we were planning a number of different events to celebrate Geranium’s 10-year anniversary. We decided instead to organise an event to raise money for charity. Creating a positive social impact seems more important now than celebrating our own achievements.
I really miss leading my team in the kitchen. It is also hard knowing that many of our team members are now separated from their families elsewhere in the world, many from Italy.
My message to the world: Years from now, maybe we can look back and see that this situation has brought positive change. This morning I read an article that really resonated with me. It said that we are getting too close to wildlife and destroying their habitats; it causes animals and crops stress and in turn, this creates disease. Once this is over, we will need to focus more on the environment. It will force us to create a better balance in our ecosystem.
Gaggan Anand, Restaurant Gaggan Anand
Bangkok, Thailand
We are all in the same boat right now. And unfortunately that boat is going down, but we are going down together. Now is the time when the community needs to pull together as one.
It’s not about fine dining, it’s about survival. It’s about everyone doing what they can to help their neighbour and offer support. This suffering is unprecedented and hits every area of your life. It affects finances, restaurants, communities and our egos. It ultimately shows us that no matter how good we are, we are not good enough.
Gaggan Anand
Currently I am fighting a daily war. Four out of five of the restaurants I am involved in are closed, so we are bleeding everywhere. Though at the one restaurant I am able to keep open, Ms Maria and Mr Singh, which we opened on 6th March, we are doing deliveries. Every week we have to change the menu and adapt to what we have available, nothing is guaranteed so we have to evolve. I have managed to keep on some waiters to drive these deliveries so they may have some money to share with their families.
When Bangkok announced it was shutting down, we had 36 hours’ notice. Restaurants like ours plan weeks ahead, we still had the stock arriving so there were huge amounts of wastage. To try and reduce it, we turned to takeaway. It’s the only thing we can do now just to manage what we have.
It feels as though we are stuck in the desert, but we don’t know where the oasis is. We could develop a vaccine tomorrow, or it could be six or 12 months. I fear that the recession from this will be strong and long-lasting.
There are times when I feel desperate and anxious, but there are other times when I feel that I can help rebuild this. I am a chef who came from nothing and I am happy to go down with nothing. This industry is so special, we must to everything we can to keep it alive.
My message to the world: Don’t give up. Keep fighting and don’t let fine dining die.
Dan Barber, Blue Hill at Stone Barns
Pocantico Hills, USA
I look out of the window today and the animals are still making noise and the farmers are still farming.
What we’ve tried to do in the midst of this is examine all aspects of our operation and look at what we can do to re-establish the connection between cooking and farming. We have a network of farms where we are their only customer. To shut off the valve now would be devastating.
So what we have done is launch something called resourcED, which is a food box for people to cook at home that allows us to serve a different farmer each day. We talk about a soup which serves the people, but actually it’s serving the farmer too. It’s reciprocal.
Those animals and farmers in the Hudson Valley are really important. Cows and pigs are an integral part of the ecosystem and by targeting these two animals, we are able to help the area at the same time. We are buying the whole animal, butchering it and sending it out in the boxes. Each box comes with a full explanation of the parts in the box, with some personal comments from the Blue Hill chefs as well as ideas of how to cook them.
Dan Barber and a view from the window at his New York State restaurant
I’m just on my way to pack up these animal boxes now. They come in grab bag form, so you don’t know what you are going to get. We are also taking the bones of the animals and turning them into charcoal, which also goes into the boxes. It’s a real chance for us to help to educate and connect people with those who grow and rear their food. When we come out of this, hopefully there will be a sense of appreciation towards the jobs these people do and their importance to our everyday lives – it’s not a straight exchange of goods for dollars.
Our chefs are also starting a new kitchen garden programme. Three cooks are tearing up small pieces of our lawns and turning them into their own patch. They can choose what they want to grow and the crops they are selecting are really interesting. They are drawing on what they ate with their grandmothers and families from Taiwan, Japan, Mexico, US and all over the world. We will be running a web and YouTube series with this as well. It’s not aimed at people who are already gardeners; this is for new growers through the eyes of new chefs. Let’s get the homeowners to plant spring vegetables right now and start to establish a connection.
When the pandemic ends, the emergency ends, but it will hopefully force us all to take a new vision for the future.
My message to the world: Take the time to explore food in a different way. If you haven’t cooked or gardened in the past, now is the time to create a relationship with food without it just being served to you. This can be a powerful way to reconnect with what is part of our DNA – to root around us to decide what is delicious and nutritious – it should reengage with us all a sense of consciousness and that is a very healthy thing indeed.
Luke Dale-Roberts, The Test Kitchen
Cape Town, South Africa
I won’t lie, this is really fucking depressing. I have had to close two of my restaurants and I have no idea what will happen to the other two. It’s really tough because for the first time in my life, I actually don’t have a plan. It’s the first time I am not actively pursuing a goal. I really don’t know what to do.
The Test Kitchen, Cape Town, and Dale-Roberts
The lockdown has been super rigid here and it is working. It’s definitely the best thing to do, in spite of the impact on businesses. Our leader Ramaphosa has been impressive. He’s been phenomenal, actually. It’s just so tough because with a water crisis, you can plan and act. With this, there is nothing we can do and it’s so prohibitive.
I’ve just been doing a lot of cooking at home. We have one of our staff from Pot Luck Club – who was our son’s nanny when he was young – and her family staying with us, there’s five of them in total, so we are keeping busy. I haven’t really got involved with the delivery business side from the collaborations I’ve been offered. To be honest, I don’t feel up to it.
I’m trying to support some of our suppliers by promoting and sharing their products, which they are selling directly to consumers, and it is helping. But it’s just tough to try and shift the volumes that these guys need to maintain their business.
We are feeling the pain of the guys we had employed in the restaurants from local towns. I ordered 2.5 tons of dry food for them for when things get really tough and I think that it’s helping. Unfortunately, the government aren’t able to take on a portion of the wages. If I let them go and keep them on retrenchment they get paid a minimum wage, but it really isn’t much. As soon as I am able to, I will employ them again.
My message to the world: I really do wish every person and their families strength and love. And also a hell of a lot of luck – we all need faith right now and if we pull together we will get through this.
Vladimir Mukhin, White Rabbit
Moscow, Russia
My city began a strict quarantine on 28th March. Everything is closed except grocery stores, pharmacies, some social initiatives and big IT companies that manage taxis and delivery services. We really don’t know how the situation will develop. We will all stay home, wait and try to make the best of this time.
The atmosphere is turbulent. On one hand, small- and medium-sized businesses are in big trouble. We don’t know how many of the restaurants, coffee shops and bars will stay alive. Although on the other hand, there is a strong sense of unity among people. For a moment, it almost seems like we have forgotten about the competition and just want to contribute to society and to our neighbours.
While we can, we will be using our kitchens to cook for our new delivery service. We have brought in some very tight sanitary measures and our waiters have become couriers – we really hope that we will keep most of our team, though it really is not easy at all.
Vladimir Mukhin and White Rabbit, Moscow
We have also launched an online restaurant that we are calling Chef's Table, which has got off to a great start. We start by announcing a dinner on a certain date and time, then guests are able to order the menu. We will then deliver the same meal to them all at the exact same time. We then connect all guests via a digital platform and I lead the dinner and tell the stories behind the dishes. We are encouraging people to change out of their pyjamas and put on something elegant.
Some of the moments of kindness I’ve seen are really heart-warming. People here are sharing so much now. Hundreds of educational opportunities are now online and available for free and we also have an Emergency Situation Committee who are organising volunteers to deliver food to older people who have no outside contact. But it is the doctors and medics who are the true heroes – those that man the frontline ever day with their selfless work.
Our White Rabbit family has also launched a social initiative to support doctors. We cook lunches for doctors and our kitchen appliance partners cover the food cost and deliver the lunch boxes to hospitals. Yandex, the Russian equivalent of Google, have also given hundreds of the cars they have as taxis to support hospitals. This kind of thing really gives me hope that there will be more human empathy in the future.
My message to the world: We all need to remember this experience of unity and strong human spirit can continue once this pandemic is over. We need to be more like the way we are acting today every single day.
Julien Royer, Odette
Singapore
It's been an extremely challenging time for everyone. We are taking it one step at a time and taking everything with gratitude. For the past five years, we have felt incredibly privileged to have welcomed guests to our home at Odette. Now more than ever, we are reminded of the reasons why we are in this business.
The kindness our community has shown us continues to inspire and unite us, we encourage everyone to continue showing love and support for your food and beverage community who need you the most during this unpredictable time.
Odette, Singapore, and Julien Royer
We have just introduced Odette at Home, which is a new way to experience our love for cuisine and people. Our team has curated an elegant showcase of iconic and seasonal plates available for takeaway, to create your own multi-course Odette experience around the table with your loved ones. In unpredictable times, we feel very fortunate to be able to continue to serve our local community, hoping it will spark joy, create good memories and deliver thoughtful meals above all else.
My message to the world: Our hearts are with our friends in the industry who are working hard to continue their operations, just as we are. We must remain united in these circumstances and we want more than ever to show our love, support and solidarity to the entire community.
Head to our coronavirus page for more content on how restaurants, bars and organisations are responding to the Covid-19 pandemic and stay tuned to our Instagram, Facebook and Twitter channels, where we are sharing initiatives from around the world.
