Renowned New Orleans Chef of the Rib Room Creates Partnership with Café Reconcile
Meet Chef Anthony Spizale, Executive Chef of the Omni Royal Hotel located in the French Quarter and its historic restaurant, The Rib Room. Anthony is a big supporter of Café Reconcile and currently employs four recent graduates in the dining room and kitchen of the Rib Room.
The Rib Room will be celebrating its fiftieth anniversary this year. It opened in October of 1960 when a presidential campaign was raging between Richard Nixon and John F. Kennedy and John Glenn was two years away from being the first American to orbit the earth. It opened as the restaurant of the Royal Orleans Hotel and soon became one of the prominent lunch spots for businessmen in the city. The restaurant focused on red meat so it would not need to compete with the local and popular Creole restaurants. Chef Anthony started nineteen years ago as a first year culinary student at Delgado’s Culinary Arts Program. Chef Anthony became Executive Chef of the Omni in 2000.
Born and raised in New Orleans, it took little time for Chef Anthony’s talents to be recognized as Executive Chef of the Rib Room. He was named the 2001 Chef of the Year for the Omni Hotel Corporation and in 2003 was named one of the five “Chefs to Watch” for 2003 by Louisiana Cookin’ Magazine. Chef Anthony won the “Best in Show” Award in 2008 at the New Orleans Food and Wine Experience and repeated the award in 2009 also winning the “Best Presentation Category”.
Chef Anthony over the years had hired three Café Reconcile graduates who never worked out to their full potential. It was at the 2009 Louisiana Cookin’ Magazine “Chefs to Watch” dinner where Chef Anthony, who was coordinating all the different chefs, spoke with Executive Chef of Café Reconcile, Chef Joe. Anthony offered to come into the Café to do a cooking demonstration for the students. Anthony came in and showed students how to make Crab Cakes. In addition to the demonstration Anthony brought the General Manager of the Omni Royal Hotel, Steve Ferran, who spoke to the students about what he looks for in a good employee. It got all the students excited because they realized what they learn in the café would transfer to a workplace as nice as the Omni Hotel. After the demonstrations two students were able to do their internships at the Rib Room. They did such a good job they were hired. There are currently four Café Reconcile graduates who work in the kitchen and dining room of the Rib Room.
Chef Anthony says that both sides benefit from hiring students from Reconcile. Students work in a nice place where they make good money, work at a fast pace, and have learned the skills in the café to be successful and overcome challenges. The restaurant benefits because they are supporting the youth of New Orleans and they get enthusiastic workers who are ready to learn new things. Chef Anthony said “The enthusiasm of the Café Reconcile students spreads to the other staff members and that has such a positive effect.”
Chef Anthony will be hosting several dinners called “Sips in the City” that pair several course meals with different libations such as Southern Italian Wines or Scotch. A portion of the proceeds from these dinners supports Café Reconcile. The first dinner is Thursday March 18th where the theme is Southern Italy. The cost is $65 dollars per person. To view the menu please visit http://www.ribroomneworleans.com/sips
Chef Anthony with Reconcile Graduates Michael and Will
