(New York) New York has been hit hard by COVID-19, and the restaurant industry has suffered a lot: closures, unemployment, then staff shortages … Despite the chaos, Daniel Boulud and the Patricia Howard-Ed couple Szymanski each opened a restaurant while being involved in their community. Our reporter went to meet them.
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“I haven’t had a single day off since the start of the pandemic,” says Daniel Boulud. We meet him in the dining room of his new restaurant, Le Pavillon (originally slated to open in 2020), a gorgeous space located in the One Vanderbilt building, next door to Grand Central Station. Around us, an abundance of green plants and a lot of natural light thanks to the huge glass roof through which we can see the majestic Chrysler Building.
PHOTO NATHALIE COLLARD, THE PRESS
Le Pavillon restaurant, in New York
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It is the seventh restaurant to bear the Boulud signature in New York. The two-Michelin-starred chef lost only one during the pandemic, Café Boulud, victim of the bankruptcy of the Surrey hotel where he was staying. It must be said that Boulud is a big company with partners with deep pockets. Still, he and his team went from 800 employees to a dozen people at the height of the crisis.
At the end of the day, there was still the CEO, CFO, COO… No matter what position, everyone had to do something else. The watchword was: if you know how to pack a sandwich, pack a sandwich!
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Chef Daniel Boulud
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PHOTO FROM THE INSTAGRAM ACCOUNT OF THE LE PAVILLON RESTAURANT
The dining room at Le Pavillon restaurant is bathed in natural light.
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Chefs who have worked with him for 25 years found themselves out of work overnight. “It tore my heart out,” he admits. We immediately created a foundation, Hand in Hand, by appealing to all those who had asked us how they could help us. Daniel Boulud was able to benefit from tremendous support from his loyal – and wealthy – clientele to whom he even delivered meals prepared during the summer in the Hamptons. “Our clients have been very generous,” he admits. Master classes online, fundraising, Daniel Boulud raised hundreds of thousands of dollars which allowed him to pay a salary and pay the insurance of several employees for a year.
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–PHOTO FROM THE INSTAGRAM ACCOUNT OF THE LE PAVILLON RESTAURANT
–PHOTO FROM THE INSTAGRAM ACCOUNT OF THE LE PAVILLON RESTAURANT
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He also put his shoulder to the wheel to help his city. “New York had brought in nurses from all over the country, and they had to be fed. We prepared 17,000 meals with chef José Andres and World Central Kitchen. “
The chef and his brigades have also cooked for City Meals on Wheels, an organization of which he is co-chair, as well as for staff at Cornell Hospital.
PHOTO FROM THE INSTAGRAM ACCOUNT OF THE LE PAVILLON RESTAURANT
For the decoration of the dining room of the restaurant Le Pavillon, we bet on an abundance of green plants.
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From the pandemic, I will especially remember the word “solidarity”. Everyone was putting their health on the line and, in a sense, their family on the line to help. It was a great lesson.
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Chef Daniel Boulud
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The chef of Lyon origin admits, however, that he found it difficult to see some long-time employees leave the ship during the pandemic. “We were like a big family, and there was a break-up,” he says. I understand that some people took advantage of the confinement to think about what they wanted to do with their life, but those who abandoned New York, it really did something to me. We tried to bring back as many people as possible. Today, we are at 350 employees. Our mission is not over. “
PHOTO FROM THE INSTAGRAM ACCOUNT OF THE LE PAVILLON RESTAURANT
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A sector to be upgraded
Opening a restaurant when New York is just emerging from a pandemic and high-end tourism has yet to pick up, it’s still a leap of faith, right? “The answer is very good, we see that people spend, want to have fun”, assures Daniel Boulud.
They drink good wines, they want to find a certain indulgence and make up for all the missed birthdays.
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Chef Daniel Boulud
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PHOTO SHANNON STAPLETON, ARCHIVES REUTERS
On May 19, Daniel Boulud inaugurated his new restaurant, Le Pavillon, in the One Vanderbilt building.
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Other signs make the famous chef say that restaurant life is slowly picking up its pace in New York: “People order fewer meals at home, hotel concierges are calling us back. When art and culture will resume, when Broadway will reopen, we will know that all of this is behind us. ”
But the reality has changed in a year. Several establishments have closed, and the others are struggling to find staff. “It’s the same problem everywhere,” he confirms. Paris, Singapore, here… For many people, this break has given rise to reflection. This profession will have to be upgraded. But as a true New Yorker, Daniel Boulud also sees a positive side to this ordeal. “There are new projects, new opportunities. ”
PHOTO FROM THE INSTAGRAM ACCOUNT OF THE LE PAVILLON RESTAURANT
There are plants everywhere in the dining room of Le Pavillon restaurant which is bathed in beautiful natural light.
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Restoration differently
A few kilometers away, on MacDougal Street, in Greenwich Village, a young couple perfectly embodies this “opportunity” of which Daniel Boulud speaks. Patricia Howard and Ed Szymanski are committed to doing things differently in the restaurant business. They dreamed of opening a stylish restaurant british. Then the pandemic arrived. So they opened a restaurant pop-up, Dame Summer Club, where they served fish and chips for take out for a year. The plan ? Raise funds to open their first real restaurant. Their fish and chips were all the rage in New York, and word of mouth turned the adventure into a real success. And since June, they finally have their real restaurant, Dame, next door. They transformed their first room into a grocery store. “Space here was not our first choice, but it became available and we jumped at the chance,” says Patricia Howard, 30, who gives us an interview while providing table service. His partner, Ed Szymanski, 28, is in the kitchen.
It is Friday evening, it is only 6 p.m., and the restaurant, which has more than doubled its size thanks to a huge terrace, is already very busy. It must be said that Dame, with its seafood specialty, has been praised by several critics, including that of Eater, which awarded the couple the prize for New Guard in restoration.
PHOTO GETTY IMAGES
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Howard and Szymanski are part of a new generation of restaurateurs who want to review the organization of work and the sharing of profits with employees. In addition to the restaurant, the couple set up an incubator to encourage the projects of their staff. He is also very involved in the community.
We have participated in the collective effort to vaccinate as many people as possible in the restaurant industry. The safety of our employees is important to us.
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Patricia Howard, co-owner of Dame
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–PHOTO ALEX STANILOFF, EATER, PROVIDED BY RESTAURANT DAME
With the pandemic, restaurant terraces have multiplied on Manhattan Island. The Lady’s Terrace on MacDougal Street has doubled the capacity of the small restaurant in Greenwich Village.
–PHOTO FROM THE INSTAGRAM ACCOUNT OF RESTAURANT DAME
The dining room of the Dame restaurant in Greenwich Village
–PHOTO FROM THE INSTAGRAM ACCOUNT OF RESTAURANT DAME
Patricia Howard and Ed Szymanski, owners of Restaurant Dame
–PHOTO FROM THE INSTAGRAM ACCOUNT OF RESTAURANT DAME
–PHOTO FROM THE INSTAGRAM ACCOUNT OF RESTAURANT DAME
–PHOTO FROM THE INSTAGRAM ACCOUNT OF RESTAURANT DAME
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The couple also raised funds for PANDC communities (Indigenous, Black and Colored people), in addition to donating their space. pop-up to restaurant friends every Sunday during the summer of 2020.
Restaurants in New York City may have been hit by COVID-19, but Daniel Boulud was right: this crisis will also bring good.
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