Water Cooler: the Future of Raymonds, the Fate of a Bad Chef

A gossip column? In this economy?!

Two things: first, I’m not a journalist, and this is not journalism—you’re reading a free blog, so caveat emptor; second, I won’t do this often, but felt these items merit mention. -JRS

Big if True: Raymonds Closed for Good?

You’re most likely familiar with Raymonds, the St. John’s restaurant of major acclaim and significance to food culture in this province. The business closed at the end of 2020 and has not re-opened. From their website: “We are now closed as of January 1, 2021 for the winter. Our reopening date will be determined in the near future.”

Given that winter, and then spring, and now summer have passed, one wonders. Recently, when someone questioned the restaurant’s future on Twitter, Co-Owner and Head Sommelier Jeremy Bonia replied as follows:

For what it’s worth—keep a few grains of salt handy—I’ve heard from multiple sources in recent months that Raymonds will not reopen. Further, I’m told the chef-de-cuisine and pastry chef (i.e. mega-talents) may open a place at the Luxor Hotel space across the road.

Time will tell!

The Bad Chef

I’ll name no names here, but if you have any experience in hospitality in the City of St. John’s or are hospitality-adjacent (and relatively non-oblivious), there’s no need to.

In short, for the unfamiliar: There was a chef involved in a restaurant of some acclaim a few years back; later came accusations of sexual harassment and assault. The Bad Chef left that business (still open and thriving under new ownership), and the industry for a time. Last year, the Bad Chef took the helm of a new kitchen in a new restaurant.

Their reputation followed, however. Someone wrote a condemnatory post on Facebook—including the phrase “violent sexual offender”, if I remember correctly—which many, many people interacted with and shared. (That post has since been deleted.) The restaurant in question disabled commenting from their social media posts, at least for a while.

I hear two things. One, that a profile of the Bad Chef and their behaviour is to be published in a major magazine this month. Two, the Bad Chef suddenly quit the new kitchen in the new restaurant.

Exposés of Bad Chefs are nothing new—take the article about the Willows Inn in the New York Times, for example—and prove surprising only to those who’ve never worked in hospitality or had a conversation with a cook or server outside of a Food & Wine festival.

Whether or not they change anything is another matter.