When Disney California Adventure, debuted, The Napa Rose restaurant was one of the few things that I was impressed with. It was different from anything else offered at the Disneyland Resort and a huge step above in both the culinary and customer service aspects of dining.
Andrew Sutton joined Disney in 2000 as the chef who oversaw the culinary portion of Napa Rose. Prior to joining Disney, Sutton spent seven years as executive chef at the Ivy Award-winning Auberge du Soleil in Napa Valley and five years with Dean Fearing at the five-star, five-diamond Mansion on Turtle Creek in Dallas, Texas. The December 2006 image below shows Sutton at work:
Dining at Napa Rose’s Chef's table in 2013, Sutton consulted us about what we liked before preparing our meal.
I always enjoyed Napa Rose; the food was delicious, the plates were pieces of art, and the service was impeccable.
The one difference I noticed between Napa Rose and other comparable high-caliber restaurants was that you definitely got the feeling that they didn’t want you to linger. Courses came out quickly like clockwork and tables were turned over just as fast. Eat, enjoy, and leave.
Sutton’s success with Napa made him the culinary golden boy of the Disney Corporation. Soon after, he was given the Carthay Circle restaurant at Disney California Adventure. The theme of that restaurant was old Hollywood, to align with the newly added Buena Vista Street.
The food, however, looked like it had just come out of the Napa Rose kitchen. The customer service didn’t quite port over as well. It seemed like they were trying to mimic professional wait-staff but couldn’t quite pull it off.
Looking for ways to maximize profits in other areas of the Disneyland Resort, Club 33 received a makeover and Sutton was also part of that package. Bye-bye Chef Marcel, hello Napa Rose cuisine.
Club 33 or Napa Rose? Hard to tell. Long-time Club 33 members were not happy that the more traditional and hearty fare was replaced with larger plates and smaller portions. Sutton’s “fancy” is not really what the typical Disney guest is looking for, let alone familiar with.
Sutton was also tasked with the 2017 21 Royal private dining venture, which charged nearly 20K for a multicourse meal. Nope, never dined there, but I could make a very educated guess about what the plates looked like.
Did I like Sutton’s culinary choices? Heck yes. However, having the same chef for four different restaurants is the dining equivalent of selling Disney plush in every store at the resort. You remove the diversity of experiencing culinary choices that resonate with the environment you are experiencing. While the reasons for Sutton’s “departure” have not been made public, it isn’t difficult to surmise what occurred. The announcement came shortly after a massive restructure of the Disneyland Resort. I would guess that a mix of economics and a desire for new trends played into that decision.
See more Napa Rose restaurant photos at my main website.
1 comment:
This is a great piece and I'm grateful to hear your thoughts on it. I'm hoping others chime in too because I'm always curious where others stand on this topic. My introduction to Club 33 was about 2013 when Chef Marcel St.Pierre was still there. He was well liked by everyone and served some very well-reviewed dishes. My Club 33 member friend was a huge fan of the Chateaubriand.
While no one had any ill will against Sutton, many Club 33 members were aware that Chef Marcel had helped design what the new Club 33 kitchen would look like. We were eager to see him use the very thing he designed. As soon as the 2014 rennovation was done, out he went. Sutton was inexplicably moved in and Chef Marcel was dispatched to the Disneyland Hotel. I get that Sutton was an up-and-comer but it left a lot of people salty, and some did not agree with his decisions about the change to the CLub 33 menu.
Looking at how long Chef Marcel was there, it seems "12" is the magic number. Twelve years for Marcel, twelve for Sutton, and perhaps his replacement will get the same, but only if successful. Regardless your output, it's probable that they just cycle people around to various positions to keep it different.
Brace for impact; my prediction, based on current ( and puzzling ) trends in society, is that the new Club 33 chef will go off in some hipster trend, or Korean fusion. Laugh now, cry later.
Good luck to Sutton wherever he goes. I hope Disney treats him well, not sweeps him under the rug as they've done to others.
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