The Culinary Institute of America Is Starting a Scholarship in Anthony Bourdain’s Name

“The Culinary Institute of America announced it will start a scholarship in the late Anthony Bourdain’s name. It will go to one or two students a year, helping pay — fittingly — for their studies abroad. The late author and television personality graduated from the school in 1978, and worked in restaurants for decades after, a life he documented in Kitchen Confidential.

As the New York Times reports, the C.I.A. was approached about doing the scholarship by Eric Ripert, Bourdain’s close friend. He came up with the scholarship — “I thought it should be a celebration of Anthony Bourdain,” he tells the Times — after discussing ways to honor Bourdain with José Andrés, another friend of Bourdain’s, and Bourdain’s estate. After discussing the idea with the institute’s president, Dr. L. Timothy Ryan, they created the Anthony Bourdain Legacy Scholarship. How much money the scholarship will provide has not yet been determined, as the fundraising has only just begun. Ryan tells the paper of record that he hopes there will be enough money for the scholarship to be an endowment fund.”

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Restaurant Boasting New York City Flair Coming to the Castro

“When it opens this spring, Gramercy Park will serve Californian cuisine in the evenings, New York City-style sandwiches in the afternoons, and all-American brunch on the weekends. Owner Mark White hopes to open the restaurant by mid-April at 216 Church Street, formerly Crepevine in the Castro.

White is fairly secretive about his background. He says he graduated from the Culinary Institute of America 20 years ago, and went on to own four restaurants in New York. But he sold off his stakes in those restaurants — which he did not name — and now has his eyes on San Francisco. He’s starting a new restaurant group, Madison Avenue Hospitality Group, and plans to open five restaurants within five years here. Gramercy Park is the first.”

“Gramercy Park will also occupy a smaller, 480-square-foot space next door — dubbed Gramercy Park To-Go — to serve commuters in the morning with coffee and grab-and-go items. It’ll also provide a streamlined area for delivery services like Caviar and Postmates to pick up orders without clogging up the main dining room. Between the two spaces, White hopes Gramercy Park will be the sort of neighborhood spot folks visit multiple times a month.”

Read more here.