Kriti Mehrotra
As a Rebecca Halpern-directed documentary living up to its title, Netflix’s ‘Love, Charlie: The Rise and Fall of Chef Charlie Trotter’ gives us a true insight into who the titular culinarian really was. That’s because it incorporates not just archival footage of the legendary restaurateur himself but also exclusive interviews with some of the most significant people in his life and in this industry. Amongst them is actually none other than Ray Harris, an investment banker who apparently ate at the former’s prime Chicago establishment a total of 424 times over a period of nearly 18 years.
Ray Harris Was Charlie Trotter’s Customer Turned Friend
It was on a cold autumn night in 1994 that Ray first stepped foot into Charlie Trotter’s namesake restaurant to see what the buzz around it was all about, only to become enamored that night itself. The attention to detail, innovation in the menu, unique flavors, as well as service impressed him to such an extent he and his wife decided to have a standing reservation there every Thursday. It didn’t matter to them that they would have to travel from their base in New York to Chicago every week because the entire experience they were being granted made them feel out of this world.
“[Charlie] had a tasting menu where it was ten dishes,” Ray asserted in the aforementioned original. “So… 424 meals times ten dishes — over 4,000 courses — and he never served me a repeat dish.” This fact still impresses the patron more than anything else, right along with how the renowned chef himself often used to come on the floor to ensure things were okay, giving way to conversations. That’s how he and Charlie got to know one another on a deeper level, resulting in them speaking about everything from their personal lives to professional experiences, as well as from money to health.
Therefore, by the time 2001 rolled around, Ray was well aware of Charlie’s competitive nature and yet somehow let himself be talked into participating in the Bordeaux Marathon in South France. Little did the duo know this would inadvisedly save the former’s life — the marathon took place as scheduled on September 8, and then, within days, four hijacked commercial airplanes struck. This investment banker’s office was in Tower Two of the World Trade Center, and he would’ve been at work if it wasn’t for the run — this honestly further solidified the duo’s bond due to their shared trauma, so they remained close right until Charlie’s death in 2013.
Ray Harris is Now Happily Retired
A native of Malden, Massachusetts, Ray reportedly knew from an early age he wished to pursue a career in corporate, leading him to enroll at Boston College as soon as he had graduated high school. He actually earned a Bachelor’s in Math plus Economics from this institution in 1978 before immediately moving on to pursue a Master’s in Business Administration — with a specialization in Finance — from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business in Illinois. From what we can tell, he subsequently did a few menial jobs before essentially landing an entry-level position at the multinational investment bank and financial services firm Morgan Stanley in 1982. It was from there that he slowly rose the internal ranks for 3+ decades, just to ultimately be appointed Managing Director as well as Vice Chairman — titles he maintained until his 2018 retirement.
Ray Harris is an Adventurer Who Efficiently Balances Family Time
Since Ray’s formal retirement, it appears as if he has been doing his best to spend quality time with loved ones while also exploring his passions of world traveling, good wood, plus great company.”I would say my wife and I, Sian, our hobbies are food, wine, and travel,” he candidly stated in the Netflix production. “We started getting on the Michelin Circuit [in the 1990s],” making it evident they definitely have taste and know what they’re talking about in terms of high-end establishments. So, it seems like they have since continued down this path of acquiring new experiences and undertaking new adventures together — this enables them to have some cozy dates too, and it’s also a great get-together if they invite their children to tag along.
Read More: Lisa Ehrlich: Where is the First Wife of Charlie Trotter Now?
