OCTOBER 1999
Food critic and director of Swiss study-abroad
By Amy Olk
Special to the Florida State Times
He gave Chez Pierre five hats. Bahn
Thai got four. He wears three.
As the restaurant critic for the Tallahassee Democrat, an associate
professor in the department of hospitality administration in
the FSU College of Business, and an active realtor, Ashby Stiff's
life reflects his passion for variety and his devotion to his
work. Holding down three jobs is a formidable task for anyone,
let alone someone who is, as he puts it, "old as God."
Yet he insists, "If I were to do just one of those things,
I would not be as happy as I am with the three. ... My work is
my life."
Florida State is fortunate to have been the site of much of Ashby Stiff's life's work. It almost wasn't so. Stiff's father, a corporation lawyer descended from seven generations of lawyers and public officials, wanted his son to go to Maryland Law School to carry on the family tradition. But following his graduation from Johns Hopkins University in 1951 with a major in writing, speech and drama and a minor in French, the young Stiff first had a military obligation.
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Ashby Stiff at
Food Glorious Food
He
enjoyed it so much that he decided to study hospitality. "My dad nearly dropped dead when I came back from the Air Force and said I was going to hotel school. He said, 'What are you going to do, walk around with a white jacket on and serve drinks in a club or something?'"
"Tallahassee's a very seductive old town. It creeps up on you and you don't know what's happening to you. That was 43 years ago, and I've never left."
After earning his master's degree in hotel and restaurant management from FSU's business school in 1957, he was offered a position as an instructor.
He managed resorts during the summer months. In 1958, he founded the Little Dinner Series, which continues to present 16 student-managed international dinners each term to a sell-out subscription audience.
In 1970, he organized a study tour in Europe that in 1972 became FSU's European Study Abroad Program in hospitality administration. Although he officially retired from teaching in 1983, he has remained on the faculty half time as the organizing director of the program, which is based in Leysin, Switzerland, where the students live in a rented chalet. They visit restaurants and hotels in several European countries.
"I love teaching," he said. "Kids with inquisitive minds, kids who are on the doorstep of life are fascinating to me. I think I've learned more from my students than I've ever taught them."
John Nestor, a senior in the hospitality management program, thinks that's part of what students appreciate so much about Stiff: "As a teacher, Ashby is always interested in the way we students view things. A lot of times he'll add insight to your perspective with experience he's had in a similar situation. His knowledge is vast."
In 1984, the editors of the Tallahassee Democrat asked him to write weekly restaurant reviews.
Zilpha Underwood (B.A. 89) was then a clerk who typed Stiff's first columns; today she is the arts and entertaiment editor.
"Ashby is so conscientious and so knowledgeable," she said. "He's a fabulous writer."
The column, called "A Matter of Taste," evaluates restaurants in entertaining narrative. Based on the total dining experience, Stiff gives the restaurant a rating from zero to five chef's hats.
Says Karen Cooley, co-owner of the 5-hat-rated French restaurant Chez Pierre with her husband, chef Eric Favier, "It took us a while to earn those hats. I think he's a very fair food critic. He offers constructive criticism. He doesn't try to trash people or ruin them, while still doing a really good job of informing the public."
Stiff acknowledges that he's a tolerant critic. For one thing, he likes all types of foods - with one exception: Polynesian poi. ("It looks and tastes like mud.") He's particularly fond of low French and high Italian, Greek, Indian - and North Florida fried fish.
While he tries to keep a low profile when doing a review, Stiff is often recognized by restaurant staff.
"Anonymity lasts one week in Tallahassee," he laughs. "You know why? It's the darn purveyors. They're very resourceful, and they'll get a picture of you from somewhere. ... But I've got the element of surprise - they never know when I'm coming, so they can't do something special on that night."