Did you find these Easter eggs in ‘The Bear’?
In its third season, “The Bear,” a TV series known for its dedicated hyperrealism, didn’t disappoint fans looking for real-world culinary references. While Carmy (Jeremy Allen White), Sydney (Ayo Edebiri) and their team of former sandwich pros were working to earn a Michelin star or two at their recently opened fine-dining spot, there were Easter eggs to be found throughout the show. With help from restaurant industry pros, we’ve compiled a short list of the show’s most real-world nods and hidden surprises:
In certain corners of RedditRumor has it that the entire show is loosely based on the life of chef Curtis Duffy, owner of Chicago restaurant Ever. But while the creators have dined at his restaurant, “If they studied me, I didn’t know,” he said.
The photos of the restaurant critics posted in Bear’s office are of real people, including the writer from The New Yorker Naomi Bak“How Long Gone” podcaster Chris Black and Sue Chan, who runs the culinary events and marketing agency Care by Chan.
In the show, Marcus, the pastry chef played by Lionel Boyce, makes a “caviar sundae.” similar dish was served at the well-known, now closed, restaurant 108 in Copenhagen, a culinary breeding ground that “The Bear” has referred to countless times.
In flashbacks to Carmy’s days at the French Laundry, Thomas Keller’s restaurant in the Napa Valley, a sign beneath the clock reads, “Sense of Urgency.” “That sign is beneath every clock in every restaurant that Thomas Keller has,” says Nick Fitch, co-owner of Alston Hospitality Group, who worked in the dining room at the French Laundry and Per Se for 12 years.
The Pilot G2 Gel Rollerball Penwith a 0.07 millimeter tip that Carmy uses to scribble furiously throughout the season (and to write his list of “non-negotiables”), caught the attention of Greg Ryan, co-owner of Bells in Los Alamos, Calif., who worked in the dining rooms of Per Se and the French Laundry for more than five years. “When I was a shipping clerk, those were the pens you had,” he said. “They work great on receipt paper, don’t smudge, have a fine point and write super smooth.”
Much has been made of Mr. Keller’s chicken-trussing demonstration — “If you ask him what his favorite food is, he’ll say fried chicken,” Mr. Fitch has said — but a photo of his handprint cast in concrete also appears in the season’s first episode. According to Mr. Fitch, the handprint was originally in the French Laundry’s kitchen but was removed during an extensive renovation and moved outside, along with handprints belonging to Corey Lee, a former chef at the French Laundry, and Claire Clark, a former pastry chef at the restaurant.
Joel McHale, who plays Chef David, said on “Late Night With Seth Meyers” that he “played the role of” Mr. Keller. “I don’t think he’s as terrible as I am, but he does whisper to his employees,” Mr. McHale said. Others have speculated that the character is based on Daniel Humm, the chef at Eleven Madison Park. Will Guidara, a producer on “The Bear,” was a business partner of Mr. Humm until the two had a tense public split. Mr. McHale said on a GQ interview this week that “David is apparently based on Thomas Keller and Daniel Humm,” adding, “There was no material. I never met them.”
In episode 2, Carmy calls a sea bass and potato chip dish a “Boulud nod,” after Daniel Boulud, the celebrity chef who crispy sea bass paupiettes in Barolo sauceThat dish uses thinly sliced potatoes as a crust for a skinless fillet, and Mr. Boulud, in turn, has cited a mullet dish by Paul Bocuse as his inspiration.
The tip vs. service charge conversation among Bear’s staff touches on a hot topic across the country. Many restaurateurs, most notably Danny Meyer, have tried to create a better system, with mixed results. In California, a recently passed law seemed to make restaurant service charges illegal (as part of an effort to reduce hidden fees), but then a second bill was passed passedallowing restaurants to keep these costs if they are clearly displayed.
