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Michael Laskonis

  1. NewsFeed
    Giant Dessert Spectacular Ushers in New York Wine & Food Festival The South Beach Wine & Food Festival was such a big hit that a New York spinoff was probably inevitable — and it will be thus! The local incarnation will begin with Sweet on November 16. And what’s Sweet, you may ask? Oh, just a “late-night dessert party” for 1,500 guests on the waterfront, featuring all the city’s top pastry chefs: Grub Street buddy Johnny Zs of Jean Georges, Michael Laiskonis of Le Bernardin, Karen DeMasco of Craft, and Nicole Kaplan of Del Posto. More pastry gods and goddesses will be added to the list in coming months. But there’s more, as Sweet is just a warm-up for the New York City Wine & Food Festival (their site just went live). It’ll be held next fall, and we’re predicting that it will be huge, even more of a hedonistic binge and bacchanal than the Miami original. In the meantime, Sweet should be a pretty good dry run. New York City Wine and Food Festival [Official Site]
  2. Mediavore
    Mr. Chow Sued for $5 Million; Loans Crush Wannabe ChefsMichael Chow of Mr. Chow is hit with a $5 million lawsuit for skimming tips, demanding “cult-like attention” from staff, and utilizing “degradation as a management technique.” [NYP] Cooking-school graduates are being crushed by their student-loan debts: “The story is always the same. The school convinces the student they are going to be the next Julia Child or Wolfgang Puck, and the student will sign anything.” [NYT] The Smith and Wollensky Restaurant Group finally agrees to be bought out by Patina Restaurant Group [NYT] Related: The Secrets of Steakhouse Riches [Grub Street]