NOTHING BUT THE BEST.(private school in New York hires Chef Bobo)

No one is saying that the hiring of Chef Bobo by the Calhoun School, on the Upper West Side, was an intentionally provocative gesture, but clearly it puts the onus on Manhattan's other private schools to respond. Would you prefer that your child attend a school with a cafeteria or one with a dining room served by a graduate of the French Culinary Institute? Who, by the way, is also Derek Jeter's personal chef.

How does that happen? About a year ago, Jeter is having difficulty enjoying his food in restaurants. Nearly everyone who sees him feels entitled to go up and talk to him. Not that he complains. He's not a complainer--"A gentleman" is what he is, according to Chef Bobo, whose name is Robert Surles (the declension is Robert, Bob, Bobo)--but Jeter happens to mention to his agent how he always sits there, nailed to his seat, being polite to one stranger after another, while his food gets cold, the meal takes hours, and he gets home late, having had not much pleasure and a wagonload of aggravation. He can't cook--never learned how--with the result that he's not eating. The solution he comes up with is to drive from the Stadium to a fast-food place, order at the drive-through window, and have dinner in his car. So now he's eating badly. The agent knows Surles, who teaches volume cooking at the French Culinary Institute, in SoHo. The agent's idea is that he will give Jeter a present of a chef for a month, then hope that Jeter keeps the chef around after that. Surles follows the Yankees, so he's interested. He meets Jeter at his apartment for an interview, and they get along. Jeter is gracious and unassuming--exactly the qualities that get him into situations in restaurants, but never mind. Surles asks Jeter what he has for him to cook with. Jeter opens every cabinet in the kitchen. They're all empty. Somewhat sheepishly, he says, "Nothing." The pantry has cases of a sports drink, and the refrigerator has the sports drink cold. "I do have a blender, though," Jeter says. Surles gets him eating fish, which he hasn't done since he was twelve and got sick on a piece of it, and on the occasions when Surles can't be there to ...