Au Revoir, Escoffier: CIA Gets New Restaurant

Most of today’s celebrated chefs (Bourdain, Mina, Achatz) likely pushed around the fromage cart at CIA Hyde Park’s venerable Escoffier restaurant. But in a nod to a fundamental shift in the way modern American restaurants are run, the CIA announced its classic French-style dining room is closing this year. The New York Times reports that in its place, a brasserie with modern appointments and a team-style approach to cooking and plating, will be constructed.

The new restaurant, called Bocuse, will continue to be a teaching environment, offering CIA students a chance to cook and train under French principles that underpin the skills of a classically trained chef. Beyond that, however, students will be part of much more collaborative teams–a collapse of the rigid “brigade de cuisine” hierarchy of chef de cuisine, saucier, potager, grillardin, etc. “It will embody the shift away from kitchen servitude — and toward creativity and collaboration — that has taken place over the years,” says Tim Ryan, CIA’s president.