Hans-Sachs-Straße - Emirates.com

tion to the quality of the food that
is served, is borne out by his two
highly popular pubs, The Hind’s
Head and The Crown, both in the
same picturesque village. The number
of customers these will attract,
and the profits generated, will far
outstrip his initial restaurant. And
all of these will be enhanced by his
subsequent links with Waitrose and
Channel 4 TV.
But these restaurants emerged
in a different, and seemingly more
certain world, one that also affected
our response to what these
chefs put on the plate.
At that time, shocks and
surprises, variations, often complete
re-interpretations or ‘deconstructions’
in menu speak, of
dishes we had longed held dear
seemed wonderfully exciting, original
and witty.
And often, but not always,
they tasted good, too. And,
however they tasted, they
always looked good on the cam-
era, something that always added
to their appeal.
Today, this is not the case. The
front page of every newspaper
every day seems to carry enough
shocks and surprises. We have
reached a point where we no
longer want them on the plate.
These two significant changes
have taken place against the background
of an even more important
change in the way we live.
Since 2008, for the first time
in human history, more than half
of the world’s population lives
in cities rather than in the countryside.
And not only are restaurants
today an established attraction
for any traveller to any city
but, as I researched my book, I
came to appreciate quite what an
extraordinarily important role
the most exemplary restaurateurs
have played in the renaissance of
our inner cities.
In New York, Danny Meyer
opened up Union Square Café and
95
OpeN skIes / maRch 2013
brought this once run-down area
back to life, as he did for a second
time when he opened Shake Shack
in Madison Square Gardens. Drew
Nieporent had the same effect on
what was 20 years ago the dark,
dingy and somewhat dangerous
area known as Tribeca. But once
the lights went on in his Tribeca
Grill, customers followed and the
area flourished.
This impact has subsequently
been repeated across numerous
other cities. In London, no-one felt
safe walking down Exmouth Market
close to the home of Sadlers
Wells ballet, but once Mark Sainsbury
had displayed that he too possessed
that essential combination
of youth, courage and naivety in
opening Moro in 2002, the whole
street came alive. Neil Perry had
the same impact when he opened
Rockpool down by the Rocks in
Sydney. So too did his fearless compatriot
and fellow chef, Michelle
Garnaut, when she opened her res-