Andre Mack, Thomas Keller’s Invisible Man
March 18, 2010There’s a cover story on notable chef Thomas Keller in the latest Wine Spectator.
For reasons that do not bear close scrutiny, I continue to read Wine Spectator against my better judgment. It might be that it’s big and glossy and my subscription hasn’t run out yet. It might be the amusing tasting notes (likely not). Maybe it’s the impossibly fabulous photography of the good-looking winemakers looking rugged and competent against dramatic landscapes. Or maybe it’s because the Negress needs yet another pointed reminder as to why wine writing is rarely confused with journalism.
You see, at no point in this story about Keller’s rise to fame was Andre Mack mentioned. Mack was one of the few African American sommeliers to helm the wine program at a top level restaurant, starting at the French Laundry before being on hand when Per Se opened in Manhattan. I know Mack married Phoebe Damrosch since Damrosch wrote a book about her gig as a Per Se waiter who knew nothing about wine. Mack was also quoted prominently in a New York Times story about the racial imbalance in most of the top Manhattan restaurants (some customers had trouble believing Mack was Per Se’s sommelier) that came about when Daniel Boulud was sued by a group of employees at Daniel. He also was mentioned in a story about how restaurants are looking for people willing to be wine directors. Mack’s now making wine in California as Mouton Noir, which is pretty funny if you know your French.
Anyway, Mack’s name is nowhere to be found in this story. If Wine Spectator wished to commit an act of journalism, they could have mentioned that Mack was the sommelier when Per Se opened, which to this mind makes him more important than any of the 1,000 or so former and current employees of the Keller group that the writer was aware of. The Negress wasn’t asking for the story to be turned into a profile of Mack, but it seemed a glaring omission since Per Se’s opening was a major milestone on Keller’s timeline.
The Negress reached out to Mack before writing this. He has gotten in touch and we will talk soon. I also am willing to admit when I’ve gone off the rails into territory outside the scope of my concern. Hence the removal of material irrelevant to the point. Stay tuned.
If you look at the comments, you can see that the folks at Wine Spectator responded to this post and you can read what they have to say below. That point is with so few people of color visible in high positions in the wine business, isn’t it incumbent to include them in stories like this to remind us that the field is open to all? I think the answer is obvious.
Thank you for bringing Andre Mack to our attention. I will try to reach out to him. If he reaches out to you, please ask him to contact me.
Thomas Matthews
Executive editor
Wine Spectator
Will do.
I remember Andre Mack from his serving me on at least two occasions at Per Se. I left it up to him to select the wines, and he did it gracefully and picked some beauties. I am surprised to hear that he may had some problems with Keller. The New York Times story referenced here only quotes him about his experience being mistreated by customers, not Keller. It makes no suggestion that he left on unpleasant terms. If there is something more to his story, I would love to hear it from him, and I have reached out to him via his Mouton Noir web site.
Harvey,
I have offered some theories in my post as to what may have happened, but I have no idea I will make that clearer when I re-edit the post. I was just surprised that a profile of Keller didn’t include Mack and was speculating as to why. I also appreciate your reaching out to the blog. I hope the magazine can clear this up.
There is really nothing to clear up. The only sommelier quoted in the Keller profile was Paul Roberts, who was responsible for the cellar at The French Laundry when it won Wine Spectator’s top award.
Yes, but there was a list accompanying the Keller story of alums who had gone on to other pursuits. I didn’t expect Wine Spectator to quote every sommelier who ever worked with Keller, but Mack’s absence from the list or even a mention that he was the sommelier who opened Per Se is conspicuous. I am an African American woman with an advanced certificate from WSET who is contemplating diploma study. Finding people in the wine world like Mack and Tony Lawrence is inspiring and lets me know that it’s an open industry. However, reading your magazine and this story does not reinforce that feeling. To this mind, that’s what you have to clear up.
I agree, he deserves to have been on that list of Keller alumni. Unfortunately, when I compiled it I had no reason to believe he was no longer at Per Se. He was not in a database of ex-chefs and somms that the Keller Group provided, and he did not show up in any of my web searches or interviews.
In no way would I want to dissuade anyone from pursuing a career in fine dining. The field needs dedicated people.
Mr. Steinman,
You said in one of your comments here that Mr. Mack had selected wines for you when you visited Per Se. I worked at daily newspapers for more than 25 years. I found a way to contact him with one Google search of his name as well as the name and location of his company, plus the fact that he was no longer working at Per Se. I find it somewhat troubling that you did not take this very simple step when reporting your story. However, I’m happy to move on and hope that you will be more careful in the future.
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