Fri 10 Apr 2009 11:23 pm
With all the food writers in Seattle using Oddfellows as a second office (and one with better pastries than the home version), how did I miss the news that Ericka Burke is no longer in the kitchen? Burke told Seattle Metropolitan that she had no conflicts with owner Linda Derschang (see under: Stranger comments?), but that she left because her Volunteer Park Cafe needed more of her time. Derschang noted that the mighty Matt Dillon is offering a helping hand in the interim.
Posted by Rebekah Denn under Food/Restaurant News
Huh, that is interesting–it makes you wonder since they haven’t been open that long! As a Matt Dillon fan though, I’m pretty excited about that interim development.
Let’s see if I have this right: EB needs to get back to the Cafe, but Matt, who has two restaurants, is stepping in?
There are so many times I wish we could get the true backstory!
I’ll give you the true backstory: Ericka Burke was asked (to use generous phrasing) to leave Oddfellows because she wasn’t present at Oddfellows when it needed her most in its nascent success. Funny how the best menu items at Oddfellows come from the menu that former VPC chef de cuisine Chris Stoneback created while Ericka was away. And even more interesting how Miss Burke gets credit for creating those recipes. No wonder that both Linda Derschang and Mr. Stoneback have cut their ties from Burke, no matter what reason they give publicly.
As a frequent VPC customer, I noticed that Miss Burke entirely abandoned her staff at VPC, telling everyone that she spent all her time at Oddies…only she wasn’t there either. So where was she? Telling the public that she left Oddfellows to rescue VPC was a heinous affront to the VPC staff, who loyally slave to keep things running smoothly in Ericka’s continued absence.
This woman does not deserve even a fraction of the credit she receives. She clearly cares only about being famous and does nothing to personally provide good food to her customers. One needs only to spend a few hours at VPC to witness her lack of talent and passion for cooking. So when you eat something wonderful at VPC, be sure to thank the only people who contributed to it: her hard-working partner and staff. Ericka only deserves the inevitable karmic retribution headed her way.
You, Sarah B., are truely horrible.