Kid chef Greg Grossman failed to wow VIP guests with five-course meal, reality TV plans on hold

It's not easy being theJustin BieberofNew York's culinary world.

Greg Grossman, the 15-year-old chef prodigy who's been written about inNew York magazineand onEater.com, stumbled out of the gate when he cooked a five-course meal for a gathering of VIPs at Hank andBrandon Freid'sSanctuary HotelThursday night. And, it turns out, Grossman's first foray into reality television was similarly half-baked.

The teen toque, who specializes in the style of cooking known as molecular gastronomy, served as celebrity chef for"The Feast,"a three-day"pop-up"restaurant that functioned out of the hotel.

Among those who showed up for Grossman's debut meal were"Sex and the City"costume designerPatricia Field, nightclub ownerAmy Sacco, actressCassandra Seidenfeld,"Real Housewives of New York City"starJill Zarinand social publicistR. Couri Hay, who dubbed Grossman the"Justin Bieber of the culinary world."

Grossman was billed grandly as"Wunderkind Chef"on the ambitious menu for the meal, which was inspired by a series of well-known artworks.

First up was a dish based on one ofJeff Koons' balloon dog sculptures. Alas, the frozen— and very orange — concoction, made with carrot, Stilton cheese and cardamom, had diners thinking"bib"not"Bieber,"and a crestfallen Grossman watched as the majority of the creations were returned to the kitchen, barely touched.

The teen's attentive mother, Terre, sitting near us, explained that the dish did not come off as planned because her son was used to working with"adult professionals,"not the catering staff that helped prepare the meal. That, and a mixup with the ice, kept the daring dish from freezing to perfection.

Mom also proudly told us that although her son had inked a deal with theNYCproduction company Picture This Television to do a reality series, he had opted out of the deal because it"just wasn't right"and because he was worried what"his contemporaries"would think. (Greg pretty much reiterated this later that night.)

A source close to the production company gave us a different account, however. The insider said that after Picture This spent time with Greg and his family,"the components did not add up for a show,"and in early fall 2009, it terminated plans for a production deal with the young chef."You always hope the storytelling is there,"claims a source close to Picture This."It just wasn't."

Reps for Grossman and Picture This did not respond by deadline.

Grossman, meanwhile, redeemed himself later Thursday with his subsequent dishes— including a strip steak inspired byRoy Lichtenstein's 1962 painting"Meat"— that had diners cleaning their plates. Perhaps Grossman's next encounter with TV will fare better, too.

Contact Gatecrasher:
Frank DiGiacomo:fdgiacomo@nydailynews.com
Carson Griffith:cgriffith@nydailynews.com
Molly Fischer:mfischer@nydailynews.com

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