Ooze and Schmooze, the multimillion-dollar restaurant brainchild of celebrity chef Robert Irvine, was scheduled to open this month at St. Pete's 400 Beach Drive, but that's not going to happen. According to 400 Beach retail developer John Hamilton, the earliest he expects the restaurant to be ready is March, due to the complexity of the construction and permitting issues.
Irvine — formerly of England's Royal Navy and chef to a whole mess of world leaders — is the host of the Food Network's Dinner: Impossible, where the burly badass races against time to pull off an incredible feast under dire circumstances. Perhaps Ooze and Schmooze should be the next episode.
Although I'll refrain from making surrender jokes, Chateau France has retreated to St. Petersburg. The venerable palace to high-end cuisine opened two new locations in the past year and a half, one in Carrollwood (in the former home of Opium) and one in SoHo (in the former home of 42nd Street Bistro). Owner Antoine Louro sold the Carrollwood location two months ago, and his partnership with SoHo landowners Barry Smith and MaryAnn Stiles was recently dissolved.
Within a few days, the shockingly pink façade of the SoHo spot was repainted a neutral earth tone and relabeled Chateau SoHo. New executive chef Tony Savage (who was originally hired under the Louro reign) spent 23 years in New Orleans, before Katrina. He plans on injecting some Creole and Cajun dishes alongside a refurbished, lower-priced French menu.
This article appears in Oct 31 – Nov 6, 2007.