An Open Letter to Tom Colicchio
Tom, while waiting for the water fountain at my gym this morning I had a moment to glance at the used magazines tossed into the reading rack. The early-morning population at my gym leans in favor of the females, so many of the magazines are one’s I never see, given my retarded interest in pop culture, hollywood, and octo-mom. But right there, in a full-page ad on the back of one such mag was you, Tom, sitting comfortably at a table with some nicely prepared food and a glass of… wait a minute… DIET COKE! It was a COKE ad for Chrisake! I felt queasy.
Tom, you co-founded Gramercy Tavern. You’ve been in Zagat so many times we’ve lost count. You’ve won James Beard awards, been on food TV and otherwise promoted good food to an interested nation. And now you throw all that away to shill for drinking diet sugar water at our dinner tables? Surely you don’t believe diet sugar water is the best accompaniment to your cooking, do you? And wait, before you tell me there’s no sugar in the product, before you launch into a defense of the much-maligned Aspartame, please tell me why would you want to encourage people to bring such a cloyingly sweet beverage to the table with your food?
Then I read the text of the ad – “Diet Coke and award-winning chef Tom Colicchio have come together to prove that distinctive flavors and smart choices can commingle.” and I grew really curious – did you know they would use your image next to text that called Diet Coke a “smart choice”?
Then today, as I write this, I learn you’ve been shilling for this product for the better part of a year now. Here’s an ad from earlier this year:
Man, I AM behind in my pop culture.
But I’m also behind in understanding why you’d do it. Coke and fine dining don’t mix and you know it. And if you argue with me on this, you lose your credibility in the food world, and you know that too.
So tell me Tom… what is the cost of a soul these days? What does one holding an esteemed position in the culinary world charge to sell out? I’m just asking.
A saddened…
Dave the Wine Merchant
