There is such a thing as being a self-taught chef, and you don’t have to be a culinary school graduate to be anointed a real chef. You just have to be extremely talented and very good. In the real world, which in this case is a New York kitchen, you can’t fake it. You have to be better than “very good.”
Sami Kader was always a front of the house guy. He flirted with a culinary school, but most of his training was on the management end. He loved to cook, and there was always that desire to become a chef, but Sami was really on his way to be more of a manager than anything else. His so-called training jobs were at very prestigious restaurants such as The Four Seasons Hotel, Petrossian, and the former La Cote Basque. He learned the business of operating a restaurant, and this experience proved to be invaluable. He also fell in love with the business and knew instinctively what he really wanted to do.
Sami spent an inordinate amount of time in the kitchens learning from the various chefs, and he found himself constantly cooking for family and friends. The talent was there and all he needed was an opportunity.
That opportunity surfaced in 1997 when Sami opened his own French/Mediterranean restaurant in the East Village. Le Tableau was located on a neighborhood street totally devoid of traffic, and this small BYOB (the liquor license came later) was light years away from something like the Four Seasons. But like his previous stops, the food was inventive and fresh, and Sami proved that he could be a real chef as well as a management type.
The accolades came quickly as the media discovered their next “favorite” restaurant. Sami called it luck, and while luck is important, there has to be something more. Call it what you will, the people never stopped coming and eventually, Sami opened his second place, an Italian restaurant called Levagna just down the block from Le Tableau.
The “luck” has continued for this talented chef/owner as the recently released Michelin Guide included Le Tableau as part of its coverage of the best restaurants in New York. Yes, Chef Sami Kader has been fortunate, but with literally thousands of great restaurants to choose from, this guy is doing something right!
Le Tableau
511 East Fifth Street
New York
212-260-1333
