The wonderful Christian Albin, the anti-Emeril, is no longer with us.
Christian Albin, the executive chef of the Four Seasons restaurant in Manhattan who succeeded the renowned Seppi Renggli in 1990, died on Saturday at a Manhattan hospital. He was 61 and lived in Rockland County, N.Y. The cause was cancer, and he had received a diagnosis only last week, according to a statement from the owners of the restaurant, Julian Niccolini and Alex von Bidder. Just a month ago, with Niccolini and von Bidder the center of attention at the 50th anniversary celebration of the restaurant, Mr. Albin was out of the spotlight but very much in charge of the meal. That day, he had also prepared a lunch for a high-profile customer, the Dalai Lama. – from SFGate
The Swiss-born executive chef worked at The Four Seasons for 36 years, serving guests from Jacqueline Onassis and Elton John to President Clinton, Princess Diana and Martha Stewart. A bigger-than-life man, he put in 14-hour days at the restaurant off Park Avenue. With him behind the stove, The Four Seasons won a James Beard Award, equivalent to an Oscar for cooking. – from AP