Dinner and a movie theory

A closer perusal of the re-review of Jean Georges made me wonder if it  was less superfluous than I initially suggested.  JGV* is all Carmen Sandiego, and so are his peers:

Dividing the attention he once reserved for the French Laundry in California, Thomas Keller peddles haute tuna sandwiches under a Samsung sign in the Time Warner Center. Wandering far from Babbo, Mario Batali travels the country to hawk cookware and hang with Nascar drivers.

This kind of globetrotting complicates the relationship between chef and restaurant. "Chef" means "boss," and seems to carry heavy connotations of "auteur."  The big names like Keller, JGV, Mario, et al, exist simultaneously as chefs and as global brands. How does that work? Bruni's answer is basically "JGV, you still the man-- pass those petits fours."That's fine if you are rocking on Punch's dime, but for the rest of us? I'd be interested if anyone who knows from auteur theory in the world of cinema can cast some light on the phenomenon of the absent auteur.**

*Music lovers will be pleased to learn that JGV's homepage no longer plays lugubrious house music when you open it. Good to know someone in the JGV empire is listening to the Cod.

**Come to think of it "The Mystery of the Absent Auteur" sounds like one of those old Alfred Hitchcock and the three Investigators mysteries, which itself is certainly a situation where the auteur is a brand.