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Industry Night at Central: 20 Years of Central, Remembering Michel Richard
Published 2 days, 11 hours ago
Description
Four people who knew him best, one table, and the stories that never made print.
Twenty years ago a general manager named Brian saw four starving women walk into a restaurant that was already closed, sat them at the bar, and asked if they would like a glass of champagne. That is the whole story of Central Michel Richard in one move, and it is why this James Beard Award winning restaurant is still standing. I recorded this one on location at Central, which is the only way to do it.
This is a DC food podcast episode and a DC dining guide entry in one. Michel Richard shaped how Washington DC eats, and we lost him ten years ago. If you have ever wondered what actually happens behind a restaurant that survives two decades in this city, this is the chef interview podcast episode for you. It is about mentorship, ego, failure, loyalty, and a fried chicken recipe with six steps that nobody is allowed to skip.
Around the table: Chip Sandground, the DC attorney who negotiated Michel out of his Citronelle non compete and became one of Central's original investors. Mel Davis, Michel's right hand for 15 years across his 11 restaurants. Chef Cedric Maupillier, Central's opening executive chef, now at Barbouzard. And Mark Bucher, co owner of Medium Rare and founder of Feed the Fridge.
Key Takeaways
00:00 Central at 20, and the night four starving women got fed
04:44 Chip Sandground meets Michel Richard and gets put to work
06:41 Negotiating Michel out of the Citronelle non compete
08:57 Open for one day, December 31, 2006
13:48 Mel Davis is told she is not qualified, and stays 15 years
16:19 The 11 restaurants, Atlantic City to the Palace Hotel
18:41 Mark Bucher, the head cheese, and the chicken nugget setup
25:13 Cedric Maupillier on listening to guests and rebranding
27:17 Inside a kitchen built for 750 covers
30:50 The last generation of the mentorship kitchen
38:40 The fried chicken, and why six steps matter
40:43 The tuna burger that sold the restaurant
45:05 Trompe l'oeil, and the baguette caviar typo
54:11 What Michel taught Mel about people
56:15 Ten years of silence, and the apology
58:34 Michel's last years, and the friends who tried
01:04:34 St. Jude's, and Michel with kids
01:09:53 One last story each, the cake and the dog
01:16:37 Rapid fire, the dish that says Central
01:21:01 Twenty years, and the whimsy missing in kitchens today
Connect with the guests
Cedric Maupillier, Barbouzard: https://barbouzard.com/
Cedric Maupillier, Barbouzard on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/barbouzard/
Mark Bucher, Medium Rare:
Twenty years ago a general manager named Brian saw four starving women walk into a restaurant that was already closed, sat them at the bar, and asked if they would like a glass of champagne. That is the whole story of Central Michel Richard in one move, and it is why this James Beard Award winning restaurant is still standing. I recorded this one on location at Central, which is the only way to do it.
This is a DC food podcast episode and a DC dining guide entry in one. Michel Richard shaped how Washington DC eats, and we lost him ten years ago. If you have ever wondered what actually happens behind a restaurant that survives two decades in this city, this is the chef interview podcast episode for you. It is about mentorship, ego, failure, loyalty, and a fried chicken recipe with six steps that nobody is allowed to skip.
Around the table: Chip Sandground, the DC attorney who negotiated Michel out of his Citronelle non compete and became one of Central's original investors. Mel Davis, Michel's right hand for 15 years across his 11 restaurants. Chef Cedric Maupillier, Central's opening executive chef, now at Barbouzard. And Mark Bucher, co owner of Medium Rare and founder of Feed the Fridge.
Key Takeaways
- Michel Richard's Central opened for a single day on December 31, 2006, then closed again because the restaurant was not actually ready.
- Central's kitchen was built for volume and once turned 750 covers in a single day, with two and sometimes three turns at dinner.
- The fried chicken is still on the menu after 20 years, and when a union kitchen in New York cut six steps out of the recipe, the result drew a zero star review.
- Michel Richard's generation treated the restaurant business as a mentorship business, training young chefs like Cedric Maupillier to be better than himself and asking nothing back.
- The MR in Medium Rare stands for Michel Richard's initials, chosen before the words were.
- Cedric Maupillier said, "Everybody thinks that the restaurant is only glamour and Gucci. No, they are wrong."
- Chip Sandground said, "It was a hard business then. It's an impossible business now."
00:00 Central at 20, and the night four starving women got fed
04:44 Chip Sandground meets Michel Richard and gets put to work
06:41 Negotiating Michel out of the Citronelle non compete
08:57 Open for one day, December 31, 2006
13:48 Mel Davis is told she is not qualified, and stays 15 years
16:19 The 11 restaurants, Atlantic City to the Palace Hotel
18:41 Mark Bucher, the head cheese, and the chicken nugget setup
25:13 Cedric Maupillier on listening to guests and rebranding
27:17 Inside a kitchen built for 750 covers
30:50 The last generation of the mentorship kitchen
38:40 The fried chicken, and why six steps matter
40:43 The tuna burger that sold the restaurant
45:05 Trompe l'oeil, and the baguette caviar typo
54:11 What Michel taught Mel about people
56:15 Ten years of silence, and the apology
58:34 Michel's last years, and the friends who tried
01:04:34 St. Jude's, and Michel with kids
01:09:53 One last story each, the cake and the dog
01:16:37 Rapid fire, the dish that says Central
01:21:01 Twenty years, and the whimsy missing in kitchens today
Connect with the guests
Cedric Maupillier, Barbouzard: https://barbouzard.com/
Cedric Maupillier, Barbouzard on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/barbouzard/
Mark Bucher, Medium Rare: