Is Oprah’s chef Art Smith fated for the White House kitchen? On Sunday Obama and friends will be eating Mexican catered by Oprah’s chef Art Smith - an Obama favorite - through his restaurant Table 52. No one was saying where Chicago’s triumphant favorite will be worshiping, but insiders in the Chicago food chain were planning a homey supper of guacamole, tacos, rice and beans, dips and salsas through the restaurant’s catering arm. Even before the momentous huddle with Hillary, the Sunday supper SOS went out. Chicago fooderati, gathered at Smith’s home Monday for the backyard cookout launch of a new free-range organic veal, were buzzing about whether Oprah’s chef of a decade might take over the White House kitchen. Smith’s confidantes are sure he would agree to handle ceremonial events but not daily feeding. The Jasper, Florida-born Smith – touched by the golden Oprah effect – has won two James Beard Foundation awards – one for his first cookbook, Back to the Table, and the second in 2007 as Humanitarian of the Year for founding Common Threads, a children’s organization fostering cultural awareness. Smith is also a consultant to Chicago meat supplier Allen Brothers, a partner with Strauss Brands of Milwaukee in their campaign to market Meadow Reserve Veal, billed as sustainable, ethically-raised, leaner and mothers’ milk-fed. 6-6-08
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Dubai wants Brooklyn Diner but Rockefeller Center has grave doubts. Shelly Fireman thought Pino Luongo’s abandoned Tuscan Square duplex would be perfect for an annex of his top grossing Brooklyn Diner. “I love the space,” he told the Tishman-Speyer rep. Alas, the rental power was less than eager, according to Fireman. “Would you be willing to give up using Brooklyn in the name?” he wanted to know.
Meanwhile, Shelly and wife Marilyn were planning a dinner of Brooklyn Diner classics for the team wanting to franchise the 57th Street landmark in Dubai. One partner is Indian; the other from Bahrain. “If the Arab is a Muslim, he probably won’t eat pork,” Marilyn mused. “And the Indian could be vegetarian, or just not eat beef," she added.
“He could be a Jain,” a friend at dinner warned her. “He might not eat after sundown.”
“I’ve already told the chef, whatever you do, don’t call them pigs in blankets.” 6-4-08.
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