Commuter Q&A: Chef Wylie Dufresne
The Commuter Q&A is an interview series focusing on the bike commuter: the who’s, where’s, why’s and what’s. We leave no helmet unturned, from politician to punk rocker. We supply the questions, cyclists supply the answers, sure to bring a wide range of responses on bike commuting and what commuting means to each individual cyclist.
We’re honored to have Chef Wylie Dufresne as the subject of or Commuter Q&A. Dufresne trained at the French Culinary Institute in New York City and worked with some of the greatest chefs in recent memory. He is today the executive chef of New York’s wd-50 restaurant on Manhattan’s Lower East Side, a lightning rod of the molecular gastronomy movement that he opened April 2003 with partners Chef Jean-George Vongerichten and restauranteur Phil Suarez. Named for the chef’s initials and the street address, the restaurant was awarded 3 stars in 2008 by the New York Times and sustains a Michelin star, one of the highest marks of distinction in the business.
Dufresne adds to long list of accomplishments that of New York City bike commuter. Read on to see what he has to say about his time pedaling the city streets:
NYC Velo: Why do you commute?
Wylie Dufresne: I don’t live near public transportation and I hate the subway.
NYCV: How long have you been commuting?
WD: Two years.
NYCV: Is NYC commuter friendly?
WD: Not as much as it used to be. The bike lanes have been counter-productive. Not very well thought out, I regret to say. I’d prefer to take my chances in traffic than deal with the pedestrians and opening doors from parked cars.
NYCV: Where do you ride/commute?
WD: Home (Peter Cooper Village) to work (50 Clinton Street) every day.
NYCV: What’s your go-to commuter bike?
WD: Swift Folder, made in Brooklyn.
NYCV: How long is your commute?
WD: Eight minutes.
NYCV: What’s your favorite bike accessory?
WD: The Ergon Cycling backpack. My clip off pedals (means they don’t bump your shins when wheeling a folding bike and it prevents scuffing the wood in the restaurant when I leave it propped up against our bamboo covered walls.)
