Chefs took to Twitter this year like a deranged moth to the flame, using the Twitterverse to bash critics, piss off their employers, brawl with other chefs and go completely batshit to the amusement of the entire culinary community.
While Twitter hall-of-famers Joe Dobias, Ryan Skeen and Nate Appleman held their own with psychotic threats, chef-to-chef feuds and unadulterated smack talk, new entrants like Scott Conant, Eric Ripert and Twitter personality Ruth Bourdain brought their own unique brand of aggression to the party. Here's a look back at the year's best-in-140-characters.
#chefbrawls
When it comes to chef brawls, one of the best bouts of the year goes to Twitter all stars Joe Dobias and Ryan Skeen. Not only were Skeen and Dobias flinging insults at each other but the whole thing started over Dobias bashing another chef—Nate Appleman, then of Pulino's. When Dobias likened Pulino's to Disneyland, Skeen responded:
@Wunien: "Ate at Pulino's the other night, mind blowing Pork Shank, if this is Disneyworld JoeDoe is Mickey Mouse SH@T!!!!" [Account deleted]
Dobias' response:
@ChefJoeDoe: "@ least I don't work in Harlem Ryan Skeen! Oh also own my own place and haven't been fired 4times in a row u douche bag." [Account deleted]
#Lampooning
As we saw last year, Twitter is the perfect medium for parody, as "fake" Restaurant Girl did with former Daily News critic Danyelle Freeman. But in 2010, Twitter personality @RuthBourdain stepped up the game with an ingenious mash-up: lampooning the haiku-esque tweets of former Gourmet editor Ruth Reichl and the potty-mouthed, oversexed snark of food personality Anthony Bourdain. Here's some of Ruth's greatest hits from this year:
@RuthBourdain: "Chelsea afternoon. Highline. Surrounded by mimes. Coffee sucks. Dickson's meats: the roasts are bigger than Paula Deen's ass cheeks." March 10, 2010 9:47am [Link deleted]
@RuthBourdain: "You asked how Guy Fieri's blood tastes. Hints of douchebag w/cheesy undertones. The bleach leached from his scalp imparts a lovely finish." [Link]
@RuthBourdain: "Jean-Georges burger fucking me up with its kaleidoscopic flesh, fat & sinew, tender buns, perfect proportions: The Kim Kardashian of burgers." [Link]
#Smacktalk
Despite a marked disdain for the critical tweets of bloggers, editors and critics, some chefs have no problem doling out the insults themselves, as long as it's about someone else's restaurant. Here's some of our favorite smacktalking tweets from this year:
Nate Appleman on Ippudo: @NateAppleman: "Just had the most Pretentious restaurant experience ever! After eating at Ippudo, they would not allow me to take the ramen to go. BULLSHIT" [Link]
Joe Dobias on Joseph Leonard: @ChefJoeDoe: "At a place that shares half my name and absolutely nothing else. Food is a fucking joke, it angers a good chef...Fucking garbage we ate was so annoying." [Account deleted]
Freeman's William Tigerett on ABC Kitchen: @WilliamTigerett: "Execellent food, but if JG ABC Home got any more feminine it would need a pull string." [Link deleted]
Food writers can do it too, when provoked:
@akuban: "Restaurants that would otherwise be 'Brooklyn'-something should SPELL THAT SHIT OUT. Enough of this "BKLYN" shit. Buy a vowel, assholes." [Link]
#criticbashing
Perhaps the most infamous example of critic bashing was from Joe Dobias (again!), who cast some semi-threatening tweets directed at Grub Street editor Daniel Maurer.
@ChefJoeDoe: "I was riding my bike and was hoping to see danny, just so I could run his ass down! No such luck." [Account deleted]
@ChefJoeDoe: "The rise continues thru the winter! F Danny!" And "Phil from Daddy-O in tonite! Great tuesday with another great biz owner for the gravy! F danny!" [Account deleted]
@ChefJoeDoe: "JoeDoe is killing it! Sorry to those who wanted something different? Barnacles suck! Danny sucks!" [Account deleted]
More critic bashing came from Scott Conant after Faustina received a disappointing review from Bloomberg critic Ryan Sutton:
@ConantNYC: "I love critics with a personal agenda. What's up sutton? So tough to be you that u have to hate on me? Hater ... hater ... hater" [Link deleted]
#TMI/BatshitDept
And now, for some truly crazy stuff. These food personalities redefined the term "oversharing" with these highly disturbing tweets.
@GaelGreene: "Steven & I had our Friday morning movie date at home. Watched Precious on DVD and ate salad. Necked a little. Now I'm back at the office." [Link]
@EricRipert: "Thierry Marx is genious/molecular=no chemical/he extract essence and soul of ingredients/blown away he is the future all about phisical...I mean phisical laws and modern science I m speechless and inspired all natural process...Therefore mollecular as a future!" We'll be keeping an eye on that Le Bern menu. [Link deleted]
@WilliamTigerett: "Ok. Avatar was pretty to look at. wondering how a banchee would taste with hoisin sauce. Imagine a whole new planet of critters to eat.." [Link]
@KellyChoi: "Coffee in a bowl...tastes better." [Link]
