Mouths Watering at Rumors of Ducasse Restaurant

By Laura Oppenheimer in Food on Feb 19, 2007 4:45PM

Chicago's hometown chefs must be trembling in their clogs; the Sun-Times is reporting that Alain Ducasse, the only chef to have three restaurants with three Michelin stars, may be considering opening a restaurant in Chicago.

Ducasse was in town in December and dined at Graham Elliot Bowles' Avenues in the Peninsula. Said Bowles: "It was like cooking for the Messiah." Bowles served him venison tartare, salmon with "sauerkraut bubbles" and a Kobe strip steak with smoked potato beignets. Not too shabby. So far, Ducasse's people have denied he is looking to expand his mini-empire into Chicago.

We love eating, and we love eating well, but upon reading the rumors of a Chicago Ducasse restaurant, we found ourselves agreeing with the Reader's take. Does Chicago need celebrity chefs like Ducasse and Robuchon opening restaurants here? Are we in danger of becoming the Disneyland of foodies? Should we be concerned that these mega-famous chefs want to come here, or should we be excited? Does, as the Reader asks, "a rising tide lift all boats or swamp some crucial ones?" And really, how much will a plate at the yet-to-be-announced-or-confirmed Ducasse restaurant cost?

Image via Alain Ducasse.