Although world-class chefs don’t move history, as a rule, they do share certain characteristics with world-class prophets. Like prophets, star chefs tend to be intuitive figures, with grand egos. They scribble their teachings in fussed-over books, collect legions of worshipful acolytes, and are known, occasionally, to speak in tongues. Also like prophets, chefs sometimes disappear for periods of time to wander introspectively in the desert. Joël Robuchon famously took a sabbatical from cooking, then returned with the haute bar-dining concept he’s since popularized around the globe. Thomas Keller bombed with his first big New York venture, Rakel, languished for a time, then resurfaced a changed man at his great French Laundry, in Napa. Now comes Scott Conant, who rose to prominence as the chef and co-owner of the fine midtown Italian restaurants Alto and L’Impero. Last year, Conant abruptly quit, and now, after wandering for a time in his own wilderness (actually, the Hamptons), he is back in a new location, with a brassy, appealingly reconceptualized restaurant called Scarpetta.
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