Chef Cat Cora called out Alinea in a since-deleted Instagram post over the weekend, putting the world-famous Chicago restaurant on blast for the way it handled a reservation she had allegedly scheduled for Saturday evening.
In a detailed Medium post, as well as via emails with the Tribune, Alinea co-owner Nick Kokonas has refuted Cora’s allegations.
Cora — who is best known as the first female “Iron Chef” on Food Network’s “Iron Chef America” — was visiting Chicago for the International Home + Housewares Show and had requested a reservation for approximately 7-7:30 p.m. Saturday at Alinea.
When that wasn’t an option, Alinea countered with an offer for a table at 5 p.m. Friday in its Gallery room. Kokonas shared an image of this emailed counteroffer with the Tribune, as well as a screenshot of confirmation and payment for the Friday reservation, which was in the name of Cora’s assistant.
Cora did not attend the Friday reservation. Her representative would only speak off the record about Friday evening, while Kokonas noted that Alinea sends at least three emails prior to reservations about dietary restrictions and other arrangements. “At the end of the day, Friday does not matter,” he wrote.
What is clear: Cora showed up to Alinea on Saturday and, when she was informed she could not get a table, engaged in a verbal altercation with the Alinea staff. Per Kokonas, as well as the timestamp on a video, this happened around 5:20 p.m.
Cora was the first to speak about the exchange publicly. In her defunct Instagram post from later that night, she claimed Alinea general manager Devin McKinney “nonchalantly said they had made a mistake” and said “Chef Grant (Achatz) was there per Devon (sic) and didn’t even come out.” She described the experience as “arrogant” and “disrespectful” in the post.
On Sunday morning, Kokonas responded, first with a still image from Alinea’s security cameras showing Cora flipping off the restaurant staff. Later, he shared the Medium post, which offered Alinea’s timeline and included additional documentation. In a comment on Kokonas’ own Instagram post, Cora admitted to flipping off the staff: “As I left I did flip them off for being so rude and disgraceful,” she wrote.
Kokonas noted in both the post and later emails with the Tribune that Alinea staff described the situation as among the “most difficult” they’ve ever encountered at the restaurant.
In an emailed statement to the Tribune, Cora wrote: “After a frustrating encounter, the post was originally put up a (sic) to start a conversation about what hospitality means to people. My wife and I did not like the way the restaurant handled the mistake they made with our reservation. They took their post down, we took our post down. We accomplished what we wanted: A conversation. We wish Grant, who is undeniably one of the most accomplished chefs, only the best. We always try to support local restaurants and chefs where ever (sic) we go and will continue to do so. We Love Chicago, it’s one of our favorite cities and we can’t wait to come back.”
Kokonas responded to that statement in an email to the Tribune. He wrote that he did not take down his Medium post — it was removed temporarily due to privacy issues. He also wrote that Alinea did not make any “mistake” with Cora’s reservation:
“No error was made with the reservation. It was clear when she arrived that she knew she didn’t have a spot… and she was nearly 20 minutes late to the supposed reservation anyways,” he wrote. “Her PR team is trying to create ambiguity where she acknowledged at the time that there wasn’t any — she’s just used to be (sic) accommodated by restaurants… at Alinea it’s simply not possible to do a dinner ‘on the fly’… or desirable to our team or other guests.
“Grant has never met her,” Kokonas wrote. “Phone call notes from our side state that it is clear that she might show up trying ‘to get in anyways.’”
He also addressed her characterization of the original post: “Her post was in no way a catalyst for conversation… nor is saying f-you to our staff. She’s the worst of our industry… that simple.”
Given the high profiles of both parties involved, the incident has attracted attention from around the hospitality industry. Cora has opened more than 18 restaurants throughout the United States and has become a prominent celebrity chef and television personality, while Achatz has earned three Michelin stars at Alinea each year since its 2010 opening and also operates Aviary and Roister, which also has one Michelin star.
Kokonas noted in his post that his restaurant group, by policy, typically refrains from commenting on the experiences of private guests.
Once Cora engaged the staff in the manner she did, then posted publicly — tagging several other high-profile Chicago chefs — Kokonas wrote that he felt obligated to comment on the situation: “That’s beyond entitlement and deserved to be called out.”
adlukach@chicagotribune.com
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