The Launch

Sam Mason Joins a Molecular Secret Society

Three mad scientists: from left, Sam Mason, Wylie Dufresne, and Will Goldfarb.
Three mad scientists: from left, Sam Mason, Wylie Dufresne, and Will Goldfarb.haha Photo: Melissa Hom


Welcome to the latest installment of the Launch, where Sam Mason, former pastry chef at wd-50, relates the ups and downs of preparing to open Tailor, the swanky restaurant and lounge coming together at 525 Broome Street.

“I just got out of a seminar on progressive cookery. Hervé This, who invented the term ‘molecular gastronomy,’ was there, as well as a few other scientists. I was listening along with about 50 other people: Wylie [Dufresne], Paul Liebrandt, Johnny Iuzzini from Jean Georges, Daniel Humm from Eleven Madison Park. It was a real community. There’s even going to be a name: the Experimental Cuisine Collective. We’re all going over to Room 4 Dessert after this. Will Goldfarb’s a great pastry chef. His idea for supplying desserts to other restaurants is pretty brilliant. I couldn’t do the consulting work he does, though. I can’t let things out of my reach. It’s just so hard for me mentally and emotionally.

The space is coming along. I’m going down there tomorrow. We’re putting in the wood ceilings, and the directional lighting is even better than I anticipated. You can dim everything so it’s very seductive. And the staircase architect is coming this week, to lay out the grand staircase between the two floors. I haven’t been able to get the equipment yet, because the tiles aren’t down yet, but we’ve figured out what we’re getting. They’re big and won’t hurt my back with an uneven, grouted surface. We had to adjust the pass-through; it was a little too close to the doorway. And tomorrow, we have to finalize just what the menu is going to look like, which means that I have to figure out just how many dishes there are going to be. There’s a lot to think about. But right now I’m going to head over to Will’s place.”

Sam Mason Joins a Molecular Secret Society