Jean-Georges Vongerichten founded JoJo in New York more than 30 years ago. Dozens of restaurants around the world followed, as he collected stars and even produced hot dogs.
The staff at Lenox Hill Hospital on Manhattan’s Upper East Side were amazed when they were served 400 gourmet hot dogs by Jean-Georges Vongerichten, one of the world’s best chefs, straight from his black-and-white striped The Mark vending cart. It was a little thank you to nurses and doctors during the Covid pandemic. That’s because just two blocks away, Vongerichten runs the classy restaurant The Mark in the eponymous five-star hotel. There, his snacks, served from arguably the coolest cart in New York, are called 'haute dogs' and cost $6 each – if you like you can have them with kimchi vegetables.
A good dozen blocks south on 64th Street, Manhattan, Vongerichten started his cooking career 31 years ago with JoJo, in a narrow two-storey townhouse. Back then, everyone was curious about what he would do after two decades in various Michelin-starred kitchens. Instead of sticking to luxury, he opted for something “much simpler, an elegant bistro”, he writes in his autobiography JGV, because when the US economy went downhill in the late 1980s, many business people no longer had lavish expense accounts, but still wanted simple elegance and sophistication.
“I have a good feel for my clients. I listen to them so I know what they want before they know it themselves,” says Vongerichten. The result was JoJo, his nickname as a child, and it became a sensation. The conditions there were reminiscent of his childhood in Alsace, with a kitchen just as tiny as in his parents’ house. Cooking was done on only six burners, so everything had to be practical – instead of long-simmering soups, a lot of juices, oils and vinaigrettes were used.
Vongerichten, now 64, likes to think back to his childhood. Employees and customers of his father‘s coal business used to join the family at the table. His mother cooked for everyone. From her, he also learned to prepare, organise and cook à la minute. “Looking back, I grew up in a mini-restaurant,” he recalls. The flavours of his childhood can always be found in his dishes. Today, Vongerichten runs a flagship restaurant that has had four New York Times stars and, until 2017, three Michelin stars (it currently has two), while also running a global restaurant empire.
He owes the start of his career to his father. The family celebrated his 16th birthday at the Michelin-starred restaurant, Auberge de l’Ill, and because the young Jean-Georges showed little ambition at school, his father asked the chef Paul Haeberlin, mostly in jest, if he could use an apprentice. The rest is history: Monsieur Paul said yes and Jean-Georges learned precision, the hard graft and the high art from him. From Haeberlin he went to Louis Outhier and his L’Oasis on the French Riviera, to cooking legends like French chef Paul Bocuse and Germany’s Eckart Witzigmann. However, it was Outhier who sent him across the world a little later to open one restaurant after another for him.
On his travels, in Bangkok, a new universe of taste opened up for Vongerichten – with a single soup: this first tom yam gung with lemongrass, limes, chilli and prawns, eaten on the side of the road in the Thai capital at the age of 23, changed his life, he writes.
He had actually come here to open a French restaurant, but he was so fascinated by Thai cuisine that all he wanted to do was learn Thai – and eat it. And that‘s how his cooking style came about. With this Asian fusion cuisine, he later distinguished himself from the rest of New York's haute cuisine.
Mimi Sheraton is one of Vongerichten’s most loyal fans. The long-time New York Times restaurant critic even recommended his Ginger Fried Rice in her 2014 book 1,000 Foods to Eat Before You Die. And she didn’t hold back on her praise. “This simple dish has undergone an otherworldly transformation in Jean-Georges’ hands.” The now 95-year-old still raves: “He was always very good at learning all about new cuisines and then making them his own. Apart from that, he’s charming, kind, honourable and good-looking too,” the critic laughs.
As in Bangkok, markets are essential for the chef to find the best ingredients for his dishes. “Vongerichten may have a large empire with many employees, but he still comes to the market himself,” observes farmer Rick Bishop, who sells his produce at the Union Square farmers’ market. The two have known each other since the start of JoJo and Rick likes him a lot. “He walks all over the market and gets the picture. Once he came to me, peeled a pea, tasted it and said: ‘Oh, these are good’. And shortly after, six of his chefs called and ordered peas.” Vongerichten says he learnt to evaluate ingredients from Bocuse, and to cook under pressure from Witzigmann.
An essential building block of Vongerichten’s gastronomic empire was – and is – his business partner Phil Suarez, a New York entrepreneur whom he met at the Lafayette restaurant, for which Vongerichten cooked up four New York Times stars when he was 31 years old. Suarez gave him $250,000, helped him get a green card and is still the dealmaker for new franchises. Vongerichten also gets support from his family. Brother Philippe is general manager at Jean-Georges, son Cedric is chef at Perry Street.
Since the Covid pandemic hit, forcing restaurant closures and then a gradual reopening, Vongerichten has been constantly breaking new ground. For example, the menu is now sent to diners’ mobile phones via a QR code and there is a delivery and takeaway service. He also sends out newsletters with cartoonish photos to his guests. Resting on his laurels is certainly not an option. He has made his first foray into the southeastern United States, opening Drusie & Darr at the historic Hermitage Hotel in Nashville. Things are definitely moving forward.
Jean-Georges
1 Central Park West, New York, NY 10023, T: +1 212 2993900
The flagship of Vongerichten’s empire of more than 40 restaurants worldwide since 1997. In addition to six- and ten-course menus that mix classics with new ideas, his innovative six-course vegetarian menu shows that he still has his finger on the pulse.
Jojo
160 E 64th Street, New York, NY 10065, T: +1 212 2235656
After 30 years, the cornerstone of Vongerichten’s career still scores with its original qualities: clearly outlined dishes at reasonable prices. A three-course takeaway dinner costs $78 - and the ambience is homely in this elegant historic townhouse.
The Mark Hot Dog by Jean-Georges
25 E 77th Street, New York, NY 10075
Luxury hotel The Mark offers America’s most expensive hotel suite (around $75,000 a night) and houses Vongerichten’s hotel restaurant. Outside are his hot dogs, which come at a price of $6 with kimchi, yuzu pickles, Dijon mustard and Sriracha mayonnaise.
Market
15 Avenue Matignon, 75008 Paris, T: +33 1 56434090
Vongerichten’s only foothold in his native country, a few metres off the Champs-Elysées in central Paris. Not geared towards high-end cuisine – pizza and burgers are also served – and thus an opportunity to try out a simpler version of Vongerichten’s Franco-Asian flavours in a low-key fashion.
Jean-Georges at the Connaught
Carlos Place, Mayfair, London W1K 2AL, T: +44 20 74997070
The London version of his New York signature restaurant and his only other European branch. The Connaught restaurant’s menu offers classics from Vongerichten’s restaurants around the world under one roof, from kale salad with soft-boiled egg to black truffle and Fontina cheese pizza.
