Au Revoir, Richard Hesse

Richard Hesse, Paris Update’s regular restaurant reviewer since 2006, is leaving France this month. When we asked our readers to say au revoir to him, the response was overwhelming. You’ll find their comments below.
Richard will be greatly missed by all of us, but at least he will be back with an occasional guest review.
Au revoir et à bientôt, Richard and Bertie the Gastrohound.
Heidi Ellison
Editor
Paris Update

Bon voyage, bonne chance, et, comme toujours, bon appétit, Richard!
Et, bien sur, mille mercis!
Jane Castle
Indeed, it is very sad news that Paris Update and its readers are losing Richard. I have enjoyed his research and musings on eating establishments in Paris and will miss them.
Where is he running off to? Lovely London? Romantic Rome? Bustling Berlin? Wherever it is, I do hope it is a marvelous and fulfilling experience.
I wish him all the best in his future adventures.
Best wishes,
Tina M. Lynch

Je suis très triste d’apprendre que Richard ne pourra plus nous faire bénéficier de ces critiques. En effet, au delà des trouvailles de lieux sympathiques qu’un VRAI parisien comme moi n’avait pas le temps de chercher, le ton juste et la très grande variété des restaurants constituent une somme de références incontournable pour tous les amoureux de Paris.
Je lui souhaite une bonne chance dans la poursuite de ses projets.
Charles Myara

A weekly pleasure to have received his insights into the world of Paris restaurants.
Ron Fox

I just wanted to let you know how much I will miss Richard’s restaurant updates. He has steered me to many wonderful meals, including Spring, Frenchie, Le Baratin, Les Papilles, Nomiya and Fables de la Fontaines. He’s also warned against the over-hyped Chez l’Ami Jean, so I know he’s not afraid to go against the grain.
Richard, I wish you success wherever you go, and I thank you for making the Paris restaurant scene a little more accessible and understandable to us all.
To Paris Update, thanks for your great website on all things Paris and for letting Richard be a part of it all. This site is a weekly antidote to my PPD – Post Paris Depression!
Johanne Dupuis

Dear Richard,
It has always been a pleasure reading your reviews and getting new ideas about where to dine in Paris. Hopefully, you’ll be back from time to time for culinary adventures and write-ups.
All the best,
Claudia and Brian Childs

Your reviews in Paris Update have been a pleasurable highlight for me. I always look forward to reading them. Oh, I will miss them tremendously!!!
Best wishes to you on your new venture.
Simon Hart

I feel doubly fortunate, because not only have I been able to read all of Richard’s wonderful reviews, but occasionally I have had the pleasure of sharing a meal with him. The enthusiasm, humor and knowledge of his regular reviews will be sadly missed.
Nick Hammond

One of the main reasons, if not the reason, I looked at Paris Update was the restaurant review column. I enjoyed these greatly, appreciated the unpretentious but discerning voice of the reviewer. Richard, you will be much missed. All best wishes for your future endeavors.
Pierre Tran

I have an old box decorated with stickers. In it are the clippings of restaurants I would like to go to when the opportunity arises. Whenever I have guests I refer to my restau boîte to find the right choice (style, location, price – oh, and food!). Many of the articles I have printed and saved are by Richard Hesse, and he has never given me false guidance. I will miss his opinions, his dog and his levelheaded reviews.
Merci, Richard Hesse !
Bien à vous,
Virginia Field

I have read Richard’s reviews regularly and often sought out restaurants that he recommended. His writing was clear and coherent and his judgment good.
Regards,
Barney Kirchhoff

Dear Richard,
Just a note to thank you for your presence on the Paris Update website and to say good-bye. Wherever you go, I wish you well.
Silvia Bianconcini (from Italy)

I have really enjoyed your column over the years. Thanks for your tips.
Karla Mahler

Good luck to Richard on his food adventures wherever he goes. He will be missed. Perhaps he can do a book of his reviews that appeared on this site. Bon appétit to him.
Best regards,
Jon-Henri Bonnard

Dear Mr. Hesse,
On one hand, I am so sorry to hear you are leaving and to know we won’t be reading your reviews in Paris Update again.
I have so appreciated them. On the other hand, I’m delighted for you! Your adventure continues. May it be a good one!
If, at any point, it is possible for your Paris Update readers to read of your adventures or your future reviews (of any restaurant anywhere), please let us know. We’ll follow you in spirit.
Many thanks,
Pat Kahn

Richard,
Every one of your reviews has reminded me why I love visiting Paris and has made me want to jump on the next airplane to get there.
Best of luck with your new adventures.
Regards,
Carollyn Philip

Richard,
So sorry to hear you are leaving Paris Update. It is the one column I always read all the way through to get new places to eat in our favorite city.
You’ll have to let us know where your next adventure will be.
Thanks for all the good eats!
Jacquelyn Miller

Dear Paris Update,
I had the pleasure one evening of having dinner with Richard and Heidi as he was reviewing a restaurant. It was wonderful. He noticed everything from the food and its preparation and presentation to the surroundings, the service and other diners. He was there to experience good dining and, while critical when he needed to be, he was looking for delight. His reviews show that and I will miss him. I wish him well.
Tony Smith

You will be missed. Concise and right-on reviews.
Larry Chrysler

Dear Richard,
I am a rather new reader of Paris Update, but the first thing I always read is your restaurant review. I am coming to Paris in May and am compiling a list of your favorite restaurants to try. Good luck in your new endeavors. You will be missed.
Ann Owens

I’m sad to hear Richard Hesse is leaving. I awaited his critiques with pleasure, read every word and filed them away for the day I’d go to one of the restaurants he reviewed. His columns were totally devoid of pretension and always filled with good humor, even when he was clearly not pleased by the menu du jour. He did something none of my budding journalism school students manage to do, describing restaurants and their owners and wait staff so well that I felt I’d been without ever having gone! In fact, I’ll give them a few of his clips as examples of informative but fun writing about food (a subject so many “foodies” manage to make so seriously boring) – voilà my little tribute to Richard as he leaves Paris Update.
Harriet Welty Rochefort

Dear Richard,
I have enjoyed your reviews and hope that wherever your travels take you they will be delicious.
Gastronomically yours,
Margaret Kemp

This is sad news indeed.
Richard’s reviews were full of useful information, personal opinions and charmingly phrased explanations.
His graceful writing will indeed be missed.
John Talbott

Dear Richard,
Sorry to hear you are going.
We have turned many people on to your restaurant reviews. Even people in Madison read it and eat vicariously. Good luck.
Carrie Estill and Ken Mackenzie

Thanks to you, Richard, for many a yummmmm, and much charm in how you’ve said so. Return with surprises now and then? Hope so.
Margo Berdeshevsky

Dear Richard,
I will miss your reviews. Will you be writing elsewhere?
Good luck. You are leaving a void.
Farewell,
Mimi Taylor

Bon voyage, Richard Hesse.
Your useful and incisive reviews will be missed.
Michael Barker

What a shame! Very much enjoyed his reviews (wish I wrote as well) and almost always agreed with him – was totally thrilled when he demolished l’Ami Jean!
All the best to you, Richard. Let us know when you are reviewing again!
Gail Negbaur

I’m so sad to see Richard go as I’ve thoroughly enjoyed his reviews and have used them extensively in compiling my personal restaurant guide to Paris. Thanks for the advice and enjoyable reading. Enjoy your new life adventure.
Susan Carter

Dear Richard,
Thanks from this 78-year-old retired American entrepreneur who has cycled almost every corner of France for the past 40 years and who looked forward to your witty, clever and accurate reviews. I will miss you immensely. Wherever you go, good health and enjoy yourself to the fullest.
Good luck,
Henry Timnick

I have not been a subscriber long but when I get my Paris Update, the first thing I go to is Richard Hesse’s restaurant reviews. I take special note of all of them in case I am ever fortunate enough to return to Paris, I will know where to go for a delightful meal. His writing style is unpretentious and friendly, as though you were chatting with an old friend. I wish him all the best in his new endeavors and wish that I could take over for him but alas…
Cheers,
Stephan

Tell me it isn’t so!
I will miss Richard Hesse’s reviews. I depended on them for my Paris layover, as I am a flight attendant for American Airlines! I liked that he didn’t follow press releases and didn’t just review the latest and the greatest. How boring it would have been if he did – but he didn’t!
Sincerely,
Lynn Loring
P.S. I depend on Paris Update for my five layovers per month in Paris. Please stay in business!

I have been enjoying the reviews and keep track of the ones I would like to try when I am in Paris. I hope that you will have a replacement so that we can continue to enjoy this wonderful service.
Angela Bellante

Our best to Richard,
We are in Paris now and have saved all of your info in hopes of trying some of “Richard’s” restaurants.
We always read his column first.
Love your “updates.” Thanks for all the information.
Daniel and Priscilla Kane

So sorry to know that you will not be writing your much-loved review, but I wish you bon vent in your new venture.
From a sad reader.
Anne Bracco

Thanks, Richard, for pointing us in the direction of so many good meals. Best of luck to you as you pursue your dreams.
Wallace Kinkade

I am a reader of Paris Update, and I am saddened that I won’t be reading Richard Hesse’s comments on Parisian restaurants anymore. It was nice and entertaining to read his stories. I hope he enjoys the next city he’ll be visiting. I’ve lived in Paris and visit every year and love to try new places. Hope to return one of these days to stay.
Irma Yepiz
I’m sorry to hear that Richard Hesse will no longer be sharing his Parisian dining experiences with us. I enjoyed reading his reviews and took notes for my next dining adventures in Paris. I especially liked his Pros and Cons approach.
May he enjoy his adventure in other realms.
Thanks for the help with mine.
Suzon Kornblum

The only possible reason for exiting Paris is that you’re leaving for Thailand, the world’s epicenter of Serious Deliciousness. Enjoy wherever.
Owen McGowan

I am sad to hear Richard is leaving Paris Update. My favorite section to read each week is the restaurant review, and I have always found Richard’s approach down to earth. He also covers a good range of restaurants and areas of Paris.
I wish him all the best in his next endeavor.
Regards,
Gillian Mylrea

Wishing Richard well on his new adventures outside Paris. I will miss those reviews – not just for the fantastic insider information and tips on new restaurants and indeed revisits of older ones but also for the insightful, witty and intelligent manner in which Richard delivered all this information, peppered as it was with an amuse bouche of stories about the decor, the staff and indeed the fellow patrons. Richard managed always to paint an evocative picture for us.
Good luck and best wishes with, in the words of Spencer Johnson, your “new cheese.”
Colin Eaton

For Richard Hesse,
We have delighted in the reviews of restaurants you offered and have dined in several, all of which – save one – were right on the money.
We shall miss your insightful reviews, delicious sense of humor, and most of all, YOU.
May your travels take you wide and far and stimulate your appetite for more.
Helene Breakstone and Bob Lelle

I will miss reading Richard’s elegant, witty and knowledgeable accounts of his dining experiences in the restaurants of Paris. Richard’s much-appreciated attention to the ambiance of restaurants, in addition to the food and service provided, made his comments truly informative. I thank him for his contributions to Paris Update and wish him success in his new endeavors.
Russell Dionne

I have always enjoyed Richard’s reviews and have found them extremely helpful on my trips to Paris. He will be missed!
All the best and happy eating!
Jane Rodak

Help! Where am I going to have lunch and dinner?
Chilla Rousselle

Richard,
As a new person in Paris, I really appreciated your comments. Always entertaining and full of information. Wishing you all the best.
Judy Barton

I will miss Richard Hesse’s reviews very much. I read his reviews every Saturday morning at my favorite coffee shop. Over my coffee and croissant here in Southern California, he helps transport me to Paris each week. His wit and personality are, I think, the most delightful part of his reviews (though of course his critical analysis and descriptions of the restaurants and cuisine present a clear image in my mind of where he is and what he is feasting on).
I wish Richard all the best in his future endeavors. Thanks so much for many wonderful years with Paris Update!
Bill Pergande

Dear Richard,
We’ll miss your intimately informative reviews of some of Paris’s lesser-known culinary corners. You have the knack of making readers feel they’re sitting at the table, soaking up the atmosphere and sampling the well-chosen range of dishes, while enjoying a witty conversation with you and your “companion.” Your “bad” reviews are fair and interesting, with mildly expressed descriptions of the shortcomings that carry much more weight than an outraged rant.
Wishing you all the best in the future, and keep up the good work.
Kathleen Gray

Sorry to see him go. His reviews were always informative. Hope you get as efficient a replacement.
Best wishes to Richard in his future endeavors.
Anne Gardner

Dear Richard,
Thank you for your honest & enlightening reviews of the Parisian gastronomie scene. May your taste buds continue to treat you and your readers wherever you go.
Damian Garnys

Really enjoyed your articles as a three-visit-per-year Paris diner. You helped us find the new spots and avoid the not-so -good places.
Good luck.
Paul Murphy

Please give him my best wishes.
Jonathan Jacobs

What a loss. I will so miss this trusted source of amusing, eloquent updates on where to eat in Paris.
Fiona Cameron

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