Horses Chef Liz Johnson’s New York Return Is Here

Late last week, the team behind Frog Club — the long-gestating restaurant set to take over the former Chumley’s space — announced its opening. In lieu of an actual announcement, however, the news arrived in the form of a Great Chefs homage video that features chef and owner Liz Johnson. The video is a (frankly uncanny) re-creation of the ’80s and ’90s cooking show that went inside professional kitchens long before the age of Food Network.

In it, Johnson makes a black-and-white blini with crème fraîche and caviar, as well as a spinach soufflé — both of which could have appeared on the original show and are in keeping with Frog Club’s throwback vibe. It concludes by directing curious diners to the restaurant’s website, which offers a form for email reservations and little else. The video says the restaurant is open, but so far it’s only had friends and family in, and rumors suggest the actual debut will be tomorrow.

Johnson’s return to a New York kitchen would be big news no matter what, but it comes after her L.A. restaurant Horses was the focus of a disturbing report regarding Will Aghajanian, Johnson’s culinary collaborator and one-time husband. (Adding to the mystery: Aghajanian himself posted a “sample” Frog Club menu to his Instagram page in late December. When we asked whether he’s still involved, he replied, “it’s very complicated.”)

The Frog Club was always destined to be among the city’s most exclusive restaurants; it is also, for now, the most enigmatic. One friend of the house, who has been, offers this early review: “It was great, and I wanna talk about it, but I’d feel bad since Liz is keeping a lid on things.”

This post has been updated to clarify the information about Johnson and Aghajanian’s relationship.