Has everyone noticed that “Julian’s Provisions”, the food emporium in the center of town, is now “The Disgruntled Chef”? There were some enquiries about it on the Gardiner, NY Facebook page, so I stopped by there to get the scoop for Gazette readers. According to Danielle Goodreau and James Frank, the owners of The Disgruntled Chef, they opened Julian’s Provisions in 2020 with Gardiner resident Alexander Dzieduszycki, the owner of Julian’s Recipe, a nationally distributed gourmet food brand, who provided the investment capital, hence they named it after Alexander’s son Julian. James explained, “It was always our intention to eventually own the restaurant outright, and in 2021, we transferred the business to the newly formed LLC: The Disgruntled Chef. When the interior renovations to expand the dining area were finished in January 2023, we officially changed the name and started the rebranding process.”
I asked how they came up with the name The Disgruntled Chef. “Paul Lamarche, our sous chef, would call me ‘The Disgruntled Chef’ – a term of endearment referring to my disposition after working 80 plus hours per week”, James replied with a wry smile. When I commented on their new logo which includes a cool crow graphic, they cheerfully told me the story of stumbling upon the work of artist David Crank (https://davidcrankdesign.com/about) who lived only two blocks away from them in Richmond, VA. James answered, “The crow with the open beak looks like he is a little irritated, like he is a disgruntled crow.” Evidently, both James and Danielle felt it was the perfect image to complement the new business name, but regardless of the cranky sounding new name, they both expressed a deep love of their work and of serving our Gardiner community. Having their own restaurant has been “a dream come true.”
Current hours of operation are the same (Wed.-Fri. 7am-5pm, Sat.-Sun. 8am-5pm), but once they acquire a liquor license, they plan to offer a beer and wine service and extend their hours on Fridays and/or Saturdays to support a new dinner service. “We are just slowly collecting art we love and using the restaurant space to display it,” Danielle said. Work by Vicki Morgan Erenzo is on display there. For more info about their delicious food, beverages, and daily specials, go to: https://thedisgruntledchef-gardiner.square.site and www.instagram.com/disgruntled.chef.