MIDTOWN EAST— Alarming news coming in from the struggling restaurant front. We just got official word that management at the one month-old Midtown Spanish restaurant Islero fired the executive chef Jessica Floyd and the entire kitchen staff after service on Saturday night. The place got a modicum of buzz when it first opened but we haven't really heard from it since. And for her part, chef Floyd, while an alum of db Bistro Moderne, seemed to get more attention for her age (24) than her cooking. Yet firing an entire kitchen is typically not the first response to tepid early reviews. Whatever the cause, incoming exec chef Luis Gonzalez, most recently of Coffee Shop, is in the driver's seat now.
UPDATE: Chef Jessica Floyd writes in to respond to this post and to give a full description of what went down:

"As the former Executive Chef of Islero I would like to respond to the defamatory post on Tuesday, placed on your website. First off, 'Tepid' is not how anyone has described my work at Islero. I received great praise for the food and whether I am 25 or 50 should not be the subject matter. The reviews I received (more than "tepid") speak for themselves and I am willing to prove otherwise to anyone who disagrees. For the record, the service however, was lacking as stated in the more than "tepid" reviews; this was the responsibility of the management, who for the record were over 40 in age, proving age has no bearing over performance.

Saturday night after service, the manager/part owner informed me that Islero would be going in a different direction and that this is where we would part ways. Along with me, my staff or just my Caucasian staff rather, would be parting ways too. We were escorted, unnecessarily, out by police and asked not to return. Strange, no? I've learned that they have been consulting the new chef and he is now attempting to replicate my menu, but in Coffee Shop style. I hope any chef such, as Luis Gonzalez, will soon feel the need to create his own menu as I am sure he will not want to continue using the ideas of a 25 year old woman chef. I will appreciate if you can set this straight. Feel free to post this email."

Filed under Manhattan: Midtown East/Kips Bay, Eaterwire, Islero, Revolving Door

Email this post to a friend

Email EaterWire AM Edition: Entire Kitchen Out at Islero

• Your friend's email address
• Your email address
• Note to your friend (optional)
• Antispam: What is 6 plus 4?
• or cancel (Email addresses are not saved or shared with outside parties.)

Comments feed for this post