Chef’s Table - Exit, stage West
Say bye-bye to the Cheese Guy. Raymond Hook, who tutored and romanced Atlanta with his encyclopedic knowledge of cheese, has decided to return to San Francisco.
Bacchanalia’s Anne Quatrano recruited him in 1999 to be the opening general manager of Star Provisions, the upscale market attached to Bacchanalia that features a state-of-the-art cheese shop. Hook left Star Provisions in 2001 and worked stints for several other ventures, including Woodfire Grill and Belly General Store. Mostly, though, he consulted full time on all things cheese for numerous restaurants and markets.
Now he’s moving back to his beloved City by the Bay, but not without first opining on Atlanta’s food scene and his plans for the future.
Creative Loafing: What’s your feeling about the availability and interest in artisan cheese in Atlanta these days?
Raymond Hook: There’s good cheese here. Cheese has become very popular, in this city and around the county. I think people are embracing artisan-made products in general. People seem to be getting away from the fast-food, standardized mentality. They want to know where their food comes from, that it’s wholesome and clean.
Who do you think in Atlanta does the best job with cheese, both in restaurants and in retail?
In the restaurant segment, obviously Seeger’s and the Dining Room at the Ritz-Carlton Buckhead and Bacchanalia all do a great job. A lot of restaurants do, really. I like that chefs have embraced it: Maybe they don’t even have cheese courses or a cheese cart, but they’ve worked artisan cheese into their menus in some way.
Retail is trickier. I think that Whole Foods on Ponce has a whole lot of cheese to pick from, but a little store like Barrel Man — which cuts it to order, encourages you to taste it and helps you pair it with food or wine — makes for a fantastic buying experience.
At a parting glance, what’s your opinion of the Atlanta restaurant scene overall?
There are some things that I just ... don’t get. It’s great that we have a city that’s second only to New York in the number of Mobil five-star restaurants, but yet those restaurants aren’t overwhelmed like they would be in other cities. If Guenter Seeger were in New York or San Francisco, his restaurant would be booked for weeks on end.
I like the ethnic food here. But generally speaking, the people in Atlanta put up with mediocre food. One of the great things about San Francisco is that if you’re not good, you don’t stay in business because there are so many options — at all price points — for good food. In Atlanta, it seems like you get great ethnic food or great top-end food. But with a lot of the restaurants in between, I question their passion.
So what are your immediate plans for San Francisco?
To continue working on the current projects I have with Georgia-based Sweet Grass Dairy and an Internet gig. I’m going to try to get really re-involved in San Francisco’s food scene. I don’t have it all set in stone. My friends in San Francisco are having a bonfire party for me on the beach the night I fly in. We’ll just take it from there.