Mussels frites is a Belgian bistro dish that has been on every American menu since 1998 and is therefore the dish a celebrity chef cannot afford to lose at. The technique is fixed. The execution is everything.
Jeanie Roland — chef-owner of The Perfect Caper in Punta Gorda, Florida, and Ella's Food & Drink in Westerly, Rhode Island — knew the execution. The mussel pot wants high heat, a fast hit of wine and shallot, the lid down for ninety seconds, then a finishing knob of butter swirled off the heat so it emulsifies into the liquor rather than breaking. The frites want a double fry: low to cook, high to crisp. Both are timing problems.
Two timers. One Bobby. He missed one of the two.