Interview Exclusive: Chef Dan Segall Joins The CourtYard

Once Beijing’s glitziest restaurant, The CourtYard’s glow has diminished of late. That’s why owner Handel Lee has brought in maestro chef Dan Segall (Louisiana, RBL, Domus) to overhaul the food. We caught up with Dan in the restaurant kitchen just two hours before March 8th's menu launch to find out more.

The Beijinger: So what are you trying to do here?
Dan Segall: Well, the whole idea is to take CourtYard in a new direction - the food, the service and the style. I run a company called Umami Concepts. We’re hired to come in, change the food, change the recipes and get the chefs trained on the new menu. It’s what our business is all about.

tbj: How does Umami Beijing operate?
DS: Rather than have a place pay me to be executive chef full time (which would cost a lot of money), we create recipe driven-food. It’s still intricate, but we tell the in-house chefs how to do everything. We train them how to make the food and then we do some follow up work – once a month we stop in and make sure the food is still good. I had dinner in Domus last week – the food is great.

tbj: The CourtYard Restaurant is a legend in Beijing. What happened?
DS: Those movie star days are over. Beijing is different now. It used to be you’d go anywhere or do anything to get to a decent restaurant. Now you’ve got Sanlitun. The perception of this place is that it’s overpriced. Beijing is incredibly price sensitive. When RBL first opened, it was overpriced - too expensive for what Beijing is all about. But when you get that reputation it’s very hard to shake it. You have to re-launch. That’s what we’re doing here.

tbj: How long does it take to turn around a restaurant?
DS: Depends what it is. The CourtYard doesn’t really need to be turned around. We just want to do something new. Chef Ray Lim wanted to move on to something else, so Handel said we should come up here and take a whack at it.

tbj: What do you think of the food at Courtyard before you took over?
DS: There’s nothing wrong with fusion, but it was dated. The dishes that they did were fine, they just didn’t excite me.

tbj: How are you changing the menu?
DS: The food here will be modern European using really top-quality ingredients, like my favorite beef from Australia – Ranger’s Valley – and look at this, French AOC butter. It’s the most expensive you can get in Beijing. But there’s no reason not to use it if you’re doing a restaurant like this. We wanted to do some more fish dishes but it’s very difficult to get good fish in Beijing. So first we find the best fish, and then build the dishes around it. Our yellowtail and turbot are beautiful. And we're doing razor clams too. No one else is doing this stuff in Beijing. What else do we have? Heaps of love. But I don’t disrespect the diner. One of the things I’m passionate about is price. I think about it as “would I serve that to my mother?” If the answer is no it’s time to re-work things. It’s a fine dining restaurant so we’re not going to make a cheap menu, but we are going to bring down the price and make beautiful food. This is a wonderful restaurant for birthdays and anniversaries but I want to make people to think, on a Tuesday night, “Let’s grab a bite at The CourtYard”.

tbj: How important is it for restaurants to win awards?
DS: I know a famous chef who’s a friend of mine. [David – long cuts! Like this. Use the back of a knife. Gently gently treat the herbs!] I don’t shoot for awards. It’s nice to be recognized. The Beijinger is the people’s choice, right? You’ve got a widespread readership, but does it mean it’s the best? It’s nice that those people thought that. Does it mean I gotta try harder next year to get the award? No. What matters to me is the financial bottom line. This is a business. I really love the restaurant business. I love everything about it. Awards are part of that business. (Angrily to chef) [So is making proper carrot puree!]

tbj: Is Beijing a more volatile city for dining than other places you’ve worked?
DS: The restaurant business is fucked all over the world. We’re all crazy, we’re all drunks. [Lenny, when are you gonna be done with fish! I need you to mince this beef. Fine dice. FINE DICE!]