Fugitive Dominique Crenn Named "Best Female Chef in the World"; FBI Names Elizabeth Falkner As "Person of Interest"

In a move that infuriated law enforcement agencies around the globe, the World's 50 Best Restaurants organization has named fugitive San Francisco chef Dominique Crenn the "best female chef in the world", setting off both raucous celebrations and angry protests in her native France and adoptive California.

Crenn, who has been on the run since 2014 after a well-publicized felonious incident in Los Angeles, has managed to elude authorities despite making occasional public - albeit unannounced - appearances. More alarmingly, she has somehow been able to orchestrate Atelier Crenn, her two-star  Michelin restaurant in San Francisco while on the lam 

Meanwhile. the FBI today named chef Elizabeth Falkner as a "person of interest" in the case of the hunt for Crenn. A law enforcement source, speaking on the condition of anonymity,  said the FBI thinks Falkner, known for her unique ability to crash at various pads throughout Europe and America, could be aiding and abetting Crenn's unlawful flight. 

When asked point blank about the "Crenn / Falkner" connection at a news conference in Los Angeles, the FBI was vague.

"Let's just say Crenn is getting help from someone," said FBI special agent Efram Zimbalist, III, special agent-in-charge of the Los Angeles field office. "She can't be out there all alone. We know she's popular woman, almost like a beloved outlaw in that wacky chef community. So she has many friends. We also know for a fact that Crenn was recently seen in public with Falkner.  So, Elizabeth Falkner, if you read this, you need to contact us immediately." 

Photographs of Crenn and Falkner partying in Los Angeles in mid-April at various sites went virile on the world wide web when they were posted The two were seen in Century City, Paramount Studios and Connie and Ted's restaurant in West Hollywood. 

Connie and Ted's owner Michael Cimarusti said he had no knowledge that either Crenn or Falkner had been to his restaurant. Mysteriously, when the FBI asked to see security tapes, Connie and Ted's manager, Murray Rubinstein, told agents the cameras were turned off that day in honor of the birthday of Philadelphia Flyer hockey great Bobby Clarke.

"That didn't make any goddamn sense to me," said FBI agent Zimbalist III. "What would Clarke's birthday have to do with security cameras being on or off? To make matters really fishy is that Clarke was born on a August 13th."    

Rumors flew that Crenn was not only with Falkner. but fellow chefs Brooke Williamson, Antonia Lofaso,  Johanne "Fetunta" Killeen and a woman known only as "Miss Florida".

Reports surfaced at press time that even the legendary Nancy Silverton was with the outlaw and the crasher.  When this reporter went to Silverton's house Sunday in the Windsor Square sector of Los Angeles she denied having seen them, but only seemed to deepen the mystery.

"I havent seen either of them," said Silverton. "But i just got home and, for all i know, if she's with Falkner,  well, they could both be upstairs sleeping in the guest bedrooms."

Crenn is nominated for a James Beard Award for Best Chef in the West. The ceremony is Monday May 2,  Will Crenn be there?   

Authorities are not taking any chance. Security around the Lyric Opera House where the awards will be held is said to be the highest in Chicago since the 1968 Democratic Presidential Convention.  

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Previous winners of the Best Female chef include Helene Darroze, Helena Rizzo, Nadia Santini and Elena Arzak

To see the original article about Crenn's felony assault of fellow 2-star Michelin chef Josiah Citrin, check this link.

http://www.krikorianwrites.com/blog/2014/3/23/chef-dominique-crenn-wanted-by-police-flees-to-france

For more on Falkner's dubious past, check this.

http://www.krikorianwrites.com/blog/2014/8/1/chef-elizabeth-falkner

Searching For The Artist Known As "T. Denver"

On two recent morning walks to Mozza to pick up a car left overnight, Nancy and I passed a closed antique store which prominently displayed a colorful, modern oil painting of a table laden with glasses, papers, and wine bottles. Our kind of table.  Nancy was smitten. 

Tuesday afternoon, I went there alone and - after unsuccessfully attempting to Armenian the owner down - bought the painting. I took it home, put it on the living room floor, propped up against a chair. Even set there, it looked good. (Check below) 

Nancy came home early and was thrilled to see it. She has an eclectic collection of modern art, but nothing, in my artful opinion, to compare. She tried to see who signed this fine work. I got out the flashlight and the magnifying glass. The best she could do was "T. Dznv" followed by a scribble.  Nothing on the web. I took a turning with the magnifying glass. Maybe that "Z" was an "E", I told her. 

"Could it be T. Denver?", she asked.

Yeah, it could. It was. We looked more on the net and found an identical signature on a painting.  But, not much more. He - or she -  was ( hopefully still is )  a 20th century European, had a painting sold at a 2004 Christie's auction and has a painting hanging at one of the Oxford University hospitals in England.. I emailed them, but got an out of office 'til April 19th reply. A webster said T. Denver might be a name for Itzchak Tarkay, an artist born in Serbia.  Another theory was that "T. Denver" was a joint effort by several painters designed to mean "starving artist".  

So a public plea. Anyone know anything about this "T Denver"?  Best answer gets four pizzas from Mozza.  T. Denver Pizza Contest expires May 5.  Ideally, the actual T. Denver checks in.

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Christine Larroucau, Pizzeria Mozza Manager, Becomes Youngest Person Ever Awarded Three Michelin Stars

On what just happens to be her 26th birthday, Christine Larroucau made restaurant history Thursday when the fabled Michelin Guide awarded her their treasured ”Three Star” rating making her the youngest person ever to be so honored in the revered guides 90-year existence..

The Michelin Guide, which only nine years ago began awarding stars to so-called “front of the house” restaurant owners and managers, said in a press release that Larroucau was honored because “she possess that rare quality of having a commanding presence on the floor, an incredible smile, a vast knowledge of food and wine and the ability to function smoothly with a blood alcohol level twice the legal limit.”

The previous record for youngest person to win the coveted three stars was Massimillano (Max) Alajmo, chef at Le Calandre in Sarmeola di Rubano near Padua, ItalyMax was 28 when he was so honored on Nov. 27, 2002 and continues to have the three stars.

Former co-workers of Larroucau, a former track star at USC,  were thrilled with the news and said it was a testament to her resolve to thrive.

“Under the tutelage of David Rosoff, Christine climbed the ladder from simple floor manager to GM of pizzeria and along the way she survived beating after beating,” said ex-Osteria Mozza server Pat Asanti, now a televisions star. “But, Rosoff could not knock her out. And now this. Congratulations, Christine.”

When news broke of the, honor  Larroucau was near the La Brea Tar Pits changing four flat tires on her SUV, three of which were being investigated as “of a suspicious origin,” according to auto theft detective Sal LaBarbera of the LAPD. “I heard she got some award that maybe someone else didn’t think she shoulda got,” said LaBarbera, a former homicide detective. “We are looking hard at a few individuals in that world. That restaurant world is bizarre. I miss the gang killings.”   

Across the nation in the heavily Chlean, French and Puerto Rican neighborhood of Coral Gables in Miami, Larroucau's parents, Marissa and Kiko, threw a lavish block party to celebrate heir daughter's prestigious honor. An estimated 250,000 people showed up including Michelle Bacehelet, the president of Chile, and Alejandro Garcia Padilla, governor of Puerto Rico who both flew in on a moment's notice for the festive occasion.

"Marissa and I are very proud of Christine and her award," Kiko Larroucau told the crowd.  "I only have one problem. Why the hell wasn't my daughter given four stars?"  

Back in Los Angeles, co-workers at Pizzeria as well as Osteria Mozza, Chi Spacca and Mozza2Go, the group that comprises “The Corner” at Highland and Melrose, celebrated Larroucau’s accomplishment with chocolate cupcakes and an off-key rendition of "Happy Birthday" led by chef/owner Nancy Silverton.

In her honor, they plan to hold a contest tonight in which anyone – employee or customer - who can properly pronounced her last name will get a free pizza.

Gang Member Gunned Down Monday Night at West Adams Blvd. and Halldale Ave.

 (NOTE- Because I am out of town, the details of the following shooting are very limited)

A 30-year-old black street gang member was assassinated Monday evening while he was standing near West Adams Boulevard and Halldale Avenue.

The word "assassination", not normally used for most gang-related killings, seems appropriate here as the attackers who approached in a gray or white pickup at 6:48 p.m., , were wearing some type of masks, indicating a planned hit. The victim, whose gang affiliation was not immediately known, was shot in the heart. He was pronounced dead at the scene moments later.

The killing was at least the 9th of year in LAPD's Southwest Division. Only the notorious 77th has more.

Sunday Daytime Shootings in Los Angeles Leave At least One Dead, Two Wounded

The drastic rise of homicides in the LAPD's Southwest Division continued in the early morning hours of Sunday when a man was shot to death near Coliseum Street and La Brea Avenue.

Shortly after 4:30 a.m., a 36-year-old black male was driving southbound on La Brea when a burgundy vehicle (no further information currently available) followed him and opened fire. 

The victim was struck in the back and was transported to Centinela Hospital where he was pronounced dead. 

The killing was at least the 8th of the years in the Southwest Division. In 2015, there were no homicides in the division in the first two month of the year,

In the neighboring 77th Street Division, a man was shot four times near Western Avenue and 70th Street minutes after high noon. The victim, a male black age 37, had been involved in verbal altercation at Florence Avenue and Western with the suspect, a male black of unknown age. The suspect left the scene, but returned to the area of 70th St. and Western, approached the victim who was in a brown, 4-door sedan, and opened fired. . The victim sustained  four gunshot wounds to the upper torso. He was transported to California Hospital in a serious, yet stable condition. 

Another shooting in the 77th occurred at 10 a.m. on 84th Street and Broadway when a male black in his mid-20s, was wounded in the forearm.  The victim walked in to 77th Station suffering from the wound and stated that he was in the passenger seat of his friend's vehicle when a silver Infinity approached and stopped. The suspect, also a black male in his mid 20s, exited the passenger side of the Infinity and fired 5 shots at the victim. The victim was transported to California Hospital in stable condition.

1 Dead, 10 Injured During Sunday Shooting in Compton

At approximately 1:35 a.,m Sunday, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department deputies responded to the 900 Block of West Victoria Street in Compton, to investigate the circumstances surrounding a shooting with multiple reported injuries.

Upon their arrival on Victoria near Wilmington Avenue, deputies discovered there was a large party with numerous gunshot victims at the location.  One victim, a male black adult, was transported to a local hospital where he was pronounced dead. 

Eight other victims sustained gunshot wounds and were also transported to local hospitals where they are currently being treated. Two others were also injured, but apparently did not require hospitalization. 

The investigation is on-going. The homicide detective on the case, Det. Richard Tomlin, was unavailable for comment. 

Anyone with information can call the L.A. County Sheriff's Homicide Bureau at (323) 895-5500 

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BREAKING - Apple Refuses Court Order To "Un-Encrypt" Reichl and Silverton IPhones To Get Secrets Of "Rucy" Chili Recipe

Technology mammoth Apple refused a federal court ruling Tuesday to provide technology that would enable the public - including chain restaurant owners - the ability to unlock the IPhone 6s of chef Nancy Silverton and writer Ruth Reichl to reveal secrets of a chili they made that was heralded as the best in recorded history. 

The chili, billed as "Rucy" - a term coined by using the first and last syllables of the two living legends first names - was serendipitously created for a gathering Sunday evening in Los Angeles to watch the Academy Awards.

So extraordinary was the Rucy, that internet speculation about its secrets went virile. The hashtags #SilvertonReichlChili and #Rucy recorded 1,7 million hits since Sunday night. The furor was exacerbated when Mario Batali tweeted the following

"There’s chili from texas and chili from the southwest and definitely chile verde and chile rojo from mexico, but i’d say the worlds best chili comes from the fertile and untamed minds of 2 jewish gals in los angeles, nancy silverton and ruth reichl"

Officials at Tweter deemed the Batali tweet so important that they temporarily suspended the 140 character limit rule allowed the 250 character Tweet.

The bison meat chili with an unspecified type of bean was made by Reichl and a version is available in her latest book, "My Kitchen Year". But the furor over it exploded when, by happenstance, it was turbocharged by topping it with a so called "P1" Pimento cheese dip made by Silverton.  The chili was rated an astounding 675. 

(To read the original story on the chili printed two hours ago check this link - http://www.krikorianwrites.com/blog/2016/2/28/ruth-reichl-and-nancy-silverton-stumble-onto-greatest-chili-in-history )

Meanwhile, Apple said that providing the technology unlock or 'un-encrypt" Silverton's and Reichl's phones could "severely compromise the secrets, private recipes, texts, affairs and other personal information of more than three billion individuals."

"Say you have a secret sauce for a burger and you texted it to your mistress. Do you want everyone to know that secret?", said Jason Asch, an Apple spokesperson. "In America, privacy is not a privilege. It's a right."

Authorities were said to be looking to interview Los Angeles-based writer Margy Rochlin who allegedly transported the P1 Pimento cheese dip from Silverton's residence to Reich's.

In a rare showing of unity, presidential candidates were in agreement on an issue. Apple, they agreed,  should unlock the phones 

"This is not an issue of national security, but it is an issue of national pleasure," said Republican front runner Donald Trump.  "There's a little document I like to call the Constitution. And it clearly states the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. The Rucy chili reeks of happiness."

Bernie Sanders, widely considered the anti-Trump, concurred. "Two Jews make a chili? That's America. C' mon, Apple. Do the right thing."

Chili by Ruth Reichl and Nancy Silverton Catapluts To #1 in World Ratings; Critics, Chefs Hail As "Greatest Chili in Recorded History"

The RNC. It wasn't planned. It was happenstance. It was as simple as this; "Put some of that on that."

The first "that" was a pimento cheese dip chef Nancy Silverton had painstakingly made Sunday afternoon and brought to an Oscar party at the temporary Los Angeles residence of writer Ruth Reichl. The second "that" was a bison chili made by Reichl.

So, as instructed, a spoonful of the dip, which, only an hour earlier, had been proclaimed the McLaren P1 of cheese dips, was upended onto the chili. 

One bite and that was it. There have been hundreds of millions, perhaps billions of bowls of chili devoured throughout history, but never has chili that scored more than 600. Never until yesterday when this concoction by Ruth and Nancy - already known in cyberspace as  "Rucy Chili"  - scored an astounding 714. 

Chefs around the country hailed the chili as Homeric.

Renowned San Francisco based chef Dominique Crenn simply said "Wow! I want some."

"Seven 1 4? Is that a typo?" Tweeted Briana "Breezy"Valdez, owner of East Hollywood's HomeState and a Texas native. 

Even Nancy Silverton seemed surprised how delicious the "Rucy" was. "Now I know how the folks at Reese's felt when they mixed that peanut butter into the chocolate cup ."

The recipe of the chili only is available in Reichl's recently published book. "My Kitchen Year" on page 45. It needs to be noted, however, this "Rucy Chili" - a term coined by using the first and last syllables of the two living legends first names- was on the fly and several modifications were made by Ruth, including, reportedly, the addition of "chicken goo" from the leftover of a dinner at  Silverton's Chi Spacca and "I forgot the name" beans from the Sunday farmer's market in Hollywood. 

As for the recipe for pimento cheese dip - a dish once described by noted foodie Jeanine K Ash as "the bottom of the barrel" - it will be available in the fall when Silverton's "Mozza at Home" cookbook arrives in bookstores.  That too was modified to a degree, with a particular Gouda and Cheddar that Silverton could not remember.

Some objected to the seemingly "secretive" nature of the chili.  

"I find it difficult to believe Ruth conveniently forgot the name of the beans she bought at the farmer's market and Nancy can't recall exactly what brand of cheeses were used in a cheese dip," said Duke Feldmeier, a private investigator hired to get the chili's secrets. "I mean, if the chili is really that good, shouldn't everyone get a chance to enjoy it?".

The Rucy, along with La Brea Tar Pits chicken wings and burritos from Burritos La Palma on Peck Road in El Monte were savored at the home Ruth and her husband Michael Singer are renting. It is the former home of Wallace Berry who won an Oscar in 1932 at the 5th Academy Awards for "The Champ". 

 Eighty six years later, there's a new champ and it's called Rucy Chili.

The Rucy chili scored an unheard of 675

Man Killed Monday Afternoon at 57th Street and Denker Avenue While Sitting In His Car

A 25-year-old black man sitting in his car near 57th and Denker Avenue was shot and killed Monday afternoon, the latest in a string of shootings in South Los Angeles at people in their vehicles.

Around 2 p.m., two black male suspects drove up to the victim, a shooter exited and fired several rounds. The man was struck multiple times in the chest. He was transported to California Hospital where he succumbed to his injuries. 

Anyone with information can call the LAPD's Criminal Gang Homicide Division at (323) 786-5100

Last week at least four people were shot while in their vehicles.

Friday morning, just after midnight, a man and woman were shot as they drove in their car along Western Avenue near 42nd Place. They were transported to a local hospital where the man was pronounced dead.   

Friday evening, a male black, 36, was sitting in his car in front of 3443 8th Ave - south of Jefferson - when unknown suspects drove by in a black BMW and fired several rounds at him. The victim was struck once in the head and three times in the torso. He was transported to a local hospital in (luckily) serious condition. 

Last Tuesday, shortly before 4 p.m., at least two black males exited a vehicle nears Harvard Recreation Center on 62nd Street and Harvard Boulevard and approached Kenneth Burden, 50, as he sat in the driver's seat of his car. The suspects fired multiple rounds, striking Burden in the head and upper torso.  The shooters fled in their car, possibly a white Chrysler. 

The Burden was taken to California Hospital where he was pronounced dead. 

Burden was a 6-Deuce Brim who went by the name of Kev Dog. At the site where he was shot, a makeshift memorial was set up with murder candles, a painted Brims hand sign and a near record amount of "Drank in his Honor" liquor bottles.

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