Michael Hall of Spoonbread Bistro and Spoonbread Bistro Deux (Photo by Betty Clicker Photography)
Legend has it that the Chaîne was founded in 1248 by Louis IX to improve culinary skills. These roasters, the Rôtisseurs, served French kings and promoted culinary excellence until they were disbanded during that pesky little French Revolution in the late 18th century.
Nearly forgotten, the Chaîne was resurrected in France in the 1950s to bring people, both professional and nonprofessional, together to celebrate food. The Chaîne spread, and a Richmond chapter was launched in the late 1970s by chef Paul Elbling. Over the years, member restaurants included such RVA stalwarts as Buckhead’s and Lemaire as well as Frits Huntjens’ dearly missed 1 North Belmont.
As time went by, the Richmond Chaîne had fewer member restaurants. Nonprofessional members remained, such as chapter president, or bailli, Jacques Moore Jr. of Moore Cadillac, who explains, “The herd thins or expands based on what the economy is doing. When times get a little tight, like during the last recession, Richmond lost dozens of relatively small and interesting places, and with thin margins, fewer chefs want to close on a Saturday or Sunday night for an event.”
Jacques Moore Jr., third from left, and Paul Elbling, second from right (Photo courtesy Jacques Moore Jr.)
Economics are one thing, but there is also relevance. I worked in a Chaîne restaurant back in the 1980s, Ed Murray’s on Hilton Head, and I'm familiar with the style of dining they celebrated. The emphasis on formal settings and tableside service is often viewed today as a bit archaic. Plus, there was a perception that the group was an older white guy’s club, though there were female members.
Enter Michael Hall of Spoonbread Bistro and Spoonbread Bistro Deux. Chef Hall joined the Chaîne while serving as executive chef at the Berkeley Hotel. He recalls, “I was the only African-American in this group back in the 2000s, that I remember. I used to go to events, and I never felt uncomfortable, I always felt welcome.
“If you meet the right people, it kind of helps you,” he continues. “If I had not met the people in the Chaîne, I wouldn’t be here right now. I wouldn’t have two restaurants. Sometimes it truly is who you know.”
Today Hall is trying to rekindle the Chaîne in Richmond. He’s recruiting new members who are reflective of the city’s diversity — both inside the industry and out — while gearing up for an induction ceremony and dinner in January at Spoonbread Bistro Deux. He’s excited about the Chaîne’s embrace of more modern cuisine, as well as programs that help elevate budding chefs and sommeliers through educational grants and annual competitions geared toward the top young professionals from both disciplines.
“I would just like to help younger people. I would love to do something to get younger people into the Chaîne. I don’t always have a lot of time, but if you’re looking to be a professional, it provides a training platform to build from,” Hall says.
For his part, Moore is passionate about the Chaîne, especially the experiences it has provided him. Around the world, there are more than 24,000 members, and local baillis have helped him secure last-minute reservations in restaurants where six-month waits for a table are the norm or made recommendations to places he might not have found otherwise, such as an all-game restaurant in Johannesburg. Locally, it has afforded him the opportunity to spend time with people who create the food and drinks we love so much and to have a front-row seat as the city has evolved into a foodie destination. Like Hall, he wants to give back to the community and open doors, such as helping get young chefs to the Chaîne’s regional contest in Washington, D.C., with an eye toward the national finals.
Typically, each chapter of the Chaîne hosts a quarterly dinner, a dine-around, where a member or guest restaurant and chef create a special dinner. “We look for places like Chef Michael Hall’s [Spoonbread Bistros] to give us a unique experience, so some of the courses that he would serve would not be on the menu,” Moore explains. “You can only get them by being a member and coming to our dinner.”
The dinners are special to Moore. “It is really all about the camaraderie,” he says, “the friendships and relationships built around the experience of fine dining, where the food is a mechanism to bring people together.”
And it’s not just dinner events, such as the recent induction dinner at Spoonbread Bistro Deux. Moore is also talking with Christine Wansleben of Mise en Place cooking school to lead a special spring class for members on how to create dishes for spring or summer picnic baskets.
Despite some stereotypes, the Chaîne is far more than a bunch of old guys drinking expensive wine and eating stuffy fare. It was the original social network of foodies who relished well-prepared food and nurtured those who created the dishes.
For membership inquiries (both professional and nonprofessional), visit richmondchaine.com.
