Politics, Chefs & Billboards

By JULIETTE ROSSANT The screening of Control Room which I attended the other night got me thinking... Now that chefs are entering the celebrity Major League with athletes, rock stars, and actors, I wonder: how might they throw their weight around when it comes to the 2004 Presidential race? Some -- like Todd English, Jody Adams, and Mark Orfaly -- are joining singers Jackson Browne and Michelle Branch to cook for the Democrats at a kick-off, pre-convention concert for John Kerry in Boston, according to the Boston Globe? One chef who is not likely to be invited to cook for the Republicans is Berkeley-based Alice Waters. If being a Berkeley Liberal were not disqualification enough, her Project Billboard is fighting Clear Channel subsidiary Spectacolor for refusing to display their anti-war sign near the Republican national convention in New York City. (If Project Billboard needs advice, perhaps they should consult someone like Disney veteran Eddie Sotto...) -- More on this subject as it develops. The big question, then, is who will we see catering to convention-goers in Boston and New York? In advance of details, what trends are likely to emerge? In the post-election round-up, will we find, for instance that chefs liberal in their inventions vote liberal, too? After all, Todd English, whom former New York Times critic William Grimes called "the Thomas Wolfe of chefs" because "no sooner is a thought in his head than it's on the plate" (Super Chef, p. 110), is liberal on the plate and already out supporting homeboy Kerry. Will conservative chefs vote conservatively? How does one even qualify terms such as "liberal" and "conservative" when it comes to cooking styles and cuisine? I, for one, want to know. To be continued...