How Jean-Georges Vongerichten Went From ‘No Good’ Kid to 4-Star Chef

As long as it is still located in Trump International Tower, the thought of dining at Mr. Vongerichten's flagship restaurant gives me indigestion and recalls exclusive restaurants during the Vichy era in France. I urge Mr. Vongerichten to restore the dignity of his reputation by relocating his restaurant somewhere else.

Driven..or other words. Focused might be best. Risky not really as it is what he seems to really want to do. Being a good human being or really being a human being is more than just cook or more than food and restaurants ...so I would assume there must be grand humanity of a very particular kind that we are reading about. I would love to sit down with Mr. Jean-Georges, if I may be permitted to say it that way, and really question his philosophy through his actions. I think we might learn a lot if it was done well. I tried to do this some 15 years ago but there were too many distractions (extremely good ones) and far too little time. If I have the chance would try again....I hope readers will be interested if I feel it was done well. In the meantime, I wish him and especially his staff all the best. I hope Trump will not be elected again, even he has done a good job in showing how we cannot be complacent about our freedoms and democracy, just a chefs know they need pay attention. The little I know Jean-Georges he will relocate as soon as he can even knowing perhaps too little politically but knowing the stomachs and tastes of his clients are political as well for politics is not just simply something 'out there". Politics is our everyday lives lived according to our understanding our moral sense of being. Discussions are needed to be human.

So today the New York Times got to promote not just one friend of Donald Trump - but two. So much for supporting progressive causes. I will not eat at any Jean George restaurant until he cuts his ties to Trump.

What a pleasantly refreshing change from the typical front page outrages. I truly enjoyed this thumbnail of a legendary chef whose NYC establishments unfortunately predate my own residency (1962-2006) there. (I was when flush a Chantarelle, Bouley, Robert diner.) As an enthusiastic, if at best competent cook, I could really relate to his experimentation. An apparently truly dedicated Maitre de cuisine who seems to have managed to remain a decent fellow (youthful peccadilloes notwithstanding) for the entirety of his career.

I had followed Jean-Georges since Boston. I'd heard about him when my downstairs neighbor got a job in his kitchen. He raved about this young, brilliant chef. Years later, I had the good fortune to be hired as a waiter at Jo-jo and was bowled over by his genius. He thought about flavors and textures like a true artist. He treated his staff like family and took us all out to Vong on several occasions. I'd never tasted such interesting flavor combinations! And I can still salivate over remembered details of the menus. I have endless admiration and respect for Jean-Georges and hope to dine with him again soon.

SUCH a great article. My wife and I took 9 of our clients out to J-G for one of their 30th birthdays years ago. Such a fabulous & memorable meal. My cousin, while alone on a biz trip, sat in a seat in front of a stove there while J-G cooked for him. That was ultimate! Feldman, you have not lost your touch- great job helping us to really picture & understand this amazingly talented man.

Two or three years ago, I took my sister to Jean-Georges for lunch on weekday for her 21st birthday. We had an extraordinary meal with lovely service - the kitchen brought out five(!) desserts to end the meal, and we ate them all. But the most memorable moment came at the end. We were still seated as service was concluding. A door near our table opened, and Jean-Georges himself - sweaty, in dirty chef's whites - stuck his head in and looked around before returning to the kitchen. The man has restaurants all over the world. How wonderful that he is not above getting his hands dirty at the flagship on an ordinary Wednesday. It certainly made my sister's day.

If you'd eaten at his Paris Cafe at the TWA Hotel at JFK, you would not give him four stars or anywhere close. Despite a stunning space for the dining room, Jean-Georges takes the approach of figuring his customers are trapped and are one-time customers and then slams them with outrageous prices (even by NY and airport standards), especially for the quality. Twenty-six dollars for a (mediocre) cheeseburger and fries? Are you kidding?

I used to love to watch his wife’s show on pbs featuring Korean cuisine. And later in the show jean-georges and marja would cook a dish inspired by Korean spices condiments. Their neighbor Hugh jackman and his wife would sometimes cook with them. So lovely! multicultural multiracial global delicious!

Beyond good and evil : just delicious? :-)

He stole a motorbike as a kid and apparently was not thrown in jail but rather, given another chance. Worth noting in the current America where mass incarceration destroys lives every single day. Kids can make mistakes and turn out to be great adults— if we let them.

My husband and I visited in 2008 from small town Washington state. Everything was magical. It was an experience I’ll never forget. Chef Vongerichten actually walked past a table full of “fancy ladies who lunch” to stop and talk to us. Wow.

I hope he is generous with his employees.

A puff piece through and through. No mention of the consistently shoddy, inattentive, haphazard service at The Inn at Pound Ridge? It's what happens when you spread yourself too thin. And the place is basically in his back yard!

New Yorkers have been having great meals at J-G restaurants for decades. My current go-to restaurant for great, down-to-earth food and service is ABC Kitchen. And I'll never get over the caviar eggs served at Nougatine. Speaking of Nougatine, our best NYE ever was spent there abut 10 years ago. However, this year we had a reservation for 7 people on Christmas Eve and had the worst restaurant experience we've every had in NYC. After waiting for our table in the lobby of the unfortunate hotel next door for 45 minutes, we got fed up with the wait and the lies from the front desk staff and left to have pizza at an UWS favorite, Numero 28. It was delightful. Jean-George Vongerichten needs to re-think whether he can keep his reputation alive as long as he's running that sloppy operation in the Trump Hotel. I have a feeling that I know why that restaurant has devolved into what it's become today, but I'll hold my tongue.

"Walking with him through the Union Square Greenmarket, where he shops, meets with his chefs and offers advice to anyone who asks, is like stepping into a Las Vegas casino with Frank Sinatra." Thank you, Alan Richman. They don't make writers like you any more.

Jean-Georges has spread himself out too thin for all of his restaurants to serve high quality fare. I've been to quite a few and none of them are great and nothing more than decent. Even his signature Jean-Georges is not what it once was. (I've eaten there numerous times) It went from three Michelin stars to two a few years ago. As an aside, I will not eat there anymore not only because the food has declined but because it is at a Trump property. I will not walk into any Trump property.

Love some of his restaurants! Love this article! My favorite line though is that he's still friends with the woman who helped him finish the marathon. That's cool.

Jean-Georges Vongerichten is a salt fiend, even when asked face to face to use a lighter hand with salt he won’t because he can’t help himself.

Very odd piece. A rich brat is hardly a "No Good Kid". "Mr. Vongerichten met his business partner, the entrepreneur Phil Suarez, almost 40 years ago when the chef was cooking at Lafayette, a restaurant of matchless creativity in the Drake Hotel in New York." That was 30 years ago.

Now that’s how you write about a four star talent. Five stars to Alan Richman

A fascinating story. It reminds me a lot of Jacques Pepin's story, as written in The Apprentice. Another chef from France who started at the bottom there and later made it big in America.

Applause to Jean-Georges Vongerichten for having seen the light and made the best of it. With all due respect to the innovative chefs, time only will show whether the eulogical or even doxological praises sung to them by the press put them in the eternal category of Taillevent and Escoffier.

There are only 3 Michelin stars!

and of course his namesake restauraant is in a Trump building, good enough reason to boycott him and all of his restaurants. there are pleny of great chefs who don't pal around with would-be tryants

Probably more business man than chef these days, I’d love to try his home cooking.

last visit to mother ship for family dinner -- our go-to for family celebrations and a place to host corporate titans for lunch for 25 years: inventive, fun and simply the best in NY (altho my wife favors Daniel) -- thanks, mr Richman

Alsatian aromas wafting through the house, so evocative of another time and place. Each of his restaurants I have tried are different- I love that it is not the same, and there is always something special in the details. Great article.

I must say his restaurant in Philadelphia was a great disappointment with unremarkable, expensive food ($26 lunch burger!) and a menu that lacked interesting choices. Perhaps he invests more of an effort in his NYC ventures because the experience here in Philly was nowhere near 4 stars.

I read a fan fiction novel several years ago that is similar to this guys life.

With the right cast, a movie about Vongerichten's rise could be very entertaining. Similar to the one about Daniele Mazet-Delpeuch which is one of my favorite films.

I met JGV and Phil Suarez when I was working on the Trump Hotel at Columbus Circle. It was our goal to recruit them and have JGV open his “signature” restaurant at that site and to provide room service to the hotel. The entire venture was incredibly successful— including the many wonderful meals I enjoyed at the restaurant. Both Suarez and JGV are wonderful people who I continued to know until I left New York. They both fully deserve the success they have achieved. How rare is that to say these days?

Interesting and wonderful piece about a man who absolutely loves what he is doing. Good for him!

As great as Jean-George and his other restaurants are, his cooking at his first NY restaurant, Lafayette, was easily the most sublime and life altering. I was a spoiled young man who had already eaten at many of the top restaurants in NYC and France. Lafayette was on a level with the greatest of them. When he left, I was devastated and switched my allegiance to Gray Kunz’s Lespinasse, an equally sublime and even more creative experience.

Great guy. I see him at least once a month at a small nightclub where I run the door. Parties into the wee hours with all the kids. And his friend Herve is a gent who has been suggesting I come work for JG. Dreamy.

What a great story, presented through quality writing. Some commenters will doubtless focus on side issues, such as "gosh I don't like X ingredient", or "gosh price Y is too much" but they miss the point of the story. A person who others wrote off as a trouble maker found not only his niche, he displayed his passion and expertise...and the world took notice.

The closing quote, “I always broke the rules,” points to one of the most undervalued traits of highly successful people — they just rewrite the rules, respectful of other people, and with humor. I remember Vong (so unique), and go to Jean-George Steakhouse at The Aria Las Vegas all the time. Never, ever a slip - congrats!

Tried the Fulton with my daughter, loved the space but the food left us somewhat dissatisfied and puzzled while leaving a huge dent in my wallet. There comes a time when a chef like JGV is riding on his brand and getting away with it. Obviously he can't be at 38 places at once but he can charge JGV prices everywhere whether he is there or not and get away with it ...for a while.

Whenever I’m in NYC we always have a lunch or dinner at Jean-Georges. It’s simply the best, always.

Brilliant, driven, energetic, bored easily, willing to take risks, pushes limits...if Jean-Georges were in elementary school today he would have been labeled ADD with hyperactivity and prescribed medication. I admire his parents for not giving up and guiding him into an industry that requires hard work, creativity, and endless energy. Amazing story.

Alas, haven’t had a memorable meal in any if his famed restaurants. Congrats to his success and business model though!

The best meal I ever ate was at Jean George in NYC in 1998. I still remember the frog legs and garlic soup, trio fois gras, sea bass and duck from that tasting menu. Dessert was incredible and decorated for my birthday and Jean George signed my menu. Hands down - best meal ever.

Fascinating article!! Looking forward to trying The Fulton in March.