up and coming chefs

[herbacidal]

suzanne f's post asking for top rising star chefs in dc got me wondering about philly?

do we have any rising star chefs in the greater phila area?

define your criteria as well as naming your chefs.

Edited August 20, 2003 by herbacidal (log)

[Mummer]

Our friend Shola is a star.

Don't know about rising. He's there, but access is limited.

[KatieLoeb]

Our friend Shola is a star.

Don't know about rising.  He's there, but access is limited.

Charlie:

You beat me to it on mentioning Shola.

I think the chef at Alma de Cuba (I know Douglas Rodriguez is not there on a daily basis) does a great job.

The chef at Salt is getting a lot of press, but I haven't had the pleasure yet so I don't have an informed opinion. The reviews I've heard range from "it's good" to "it ain't all that".

The Exec. chef here at Striped Bass, Terence Feury, is going over to the Ritz Carlton some time next month. His Exec. Sous Shazad Khan is taking over the reins here when that happens. I think he'll definitely be one to watch.

Of course my buddies Michael Merlo and Danny Marcantuno are doing a great job at Avalon in West Chester, PA. Craig LaBan review upcoming in a couple of weeks (9/9/03 I think?). I hope he's merciful. He was really unkind to Bella for no good reason and I think it was cruel.

And Matt Ito at Fuji will always kick Morimoto's butt in the kitchen and behind the sushi bar as far as I'm concerned. Maybe not sumo wrestling though

[SG-]

The Exec. chef here at Striped Bass, Terence Feury, is going over to the Ritz Carlton some time next month.  His Exec. Sous Shazad Khan is taking over the reins here when that happens.  I think he'll definitely be one to watch.

Which restaurant is Terence going to be in at the ritz carlton and what's Shazad's background?

[Rich Pawlak]

.

Of course my buddies Michael Merlo and Danny Marcantuno are doing a great job at Avalon in West Chester, PA.  Craig LaBan review upcoming in a couple of weeks (9/9/03 I think?).  I hope he's merciful.  He was really unkind to Bella for no good reason and I think it was cruel.

I think the Craig Laban review will actually appear on Sunday Sept 7, according to the owners. Laban visited 3 times at Avalon, and I think that is a very positive sign; I suspect he wanted to eat through more of the menu. he has been utterly tightlipped and unforthcoming to me about any of it.

[herbacidal]

The Exec. chef here at Striped Bass, Terence Feury, is going over to the Ritz Carlton some time next month.  His Exec. Sous Shazad Khan is taking over the reins here when that happens.  I think he'll definitely be one to watch.

Which restaurant is Terence going to be in at the ritz carlton and what's Shazad's background?

is terence going to be overseeing all hotel food operations or a particular restaurant?

[Lisa1349]

This is from this week's NYT want ads:

Nationally recognized Phila

seafood restr with state of the

art exhibition kitchen, $6 Mil

vol & Phila's most beautiful

dining room seeks EXEC CHEF,

Salary six figures, benefits.

FAX resume 215-732XXXX

You know I thought of SB when I saw it!

Lisa

[cinghiale]

I'm casting my vote for Bryan Sikora at Django. If "getting a lot of press" is the criterion, perhaps Rittenhouse Square eateries are more on the media's radar. But for creativity, presentation, and making use of local ingredients -- the latter being an especially important criterion for me -- Bryan is near the top of my list. Consider price, too. Quite the bang for one's buck.

As for Shola, while the Studio Kitchen meals are quite good and creative, I don't think he qualifies until he actually opens a restaurant. If he can recreate, on a consistent basis, what's goin' on in West Phila, then he deserves a nod. Until then, he's still unproven in my book.

Edited for : what the hell is a "star chef"?

Edited August 21, 2003 by cinghiale (log)

[KatieLoeb]

Lisa:

I'm not sure what arrangement TPTB have made with our new Exec. Chef. He may just be sticking around for the transitional phase, or perhaps that ad was placed before their arrangement had been finalized.

SG:

Shazad is a Philly boy born and bred. He's been here for five years and previously was at DiLullo Centro (what is now Toto).

I'm not certain what Chef Feury's postion at the Ritz Carlton will be. He's being pretty cagey about it even though it was already announced in the Inky. I'll post an update if/when I get it.

[davidbdesilva]

First of all I have to say, Shola not a proven chef yet? What? Are you kidding? I think being trained in London, working at Blue Angel and then Le Bec Fin (where he was so frustrated with the inappropriate techniques of the little man that he left) and not to mention his masterpiece meals at Studiokitchen surely qualifies him as an established star chef.

That being said, I have also been very impressed with the food turned out by Ben Mc Namara at Dark Horse. I was used to eating typically bland Shepherd's Pie and bangers and mash there when it was Dicken's Inn, until I recently tried their lamb shank and was blown away. I then learned that they had hired Mc Namara and it all made sense. I think he is an unsung and unrecognized star chef in his own right.

[herbacidal]

i think sikora's stock is definitely rising.

don't know how much larger than django he wants to get though.

mcnamara's probably also.

i think he was the first in the area to really do really good bar food, preceding standard tap.

[herbacidal]

First of all I have to say, Shola not a proven chef yet? What? Are you kidding? I think being trained in London, working at Blue Angel and then Le Bec Fin (where he was so frustrated with the inappropriate techniques of the little man that he left) and not to mention his masterpiece meals at Studiokitchen surely qualifies him as an established star chef.

i think shola's culinary chops are self-evident to anyone who has been to studiokitchen.

but i also think that while he is an up and comer, the final strand of success and credibility won't be given to him until he does a restaurant. that's just the way it works.

he has done enough in the meantime to establish a solid foundation within the local press and local diners to enable the restaurant a modicum of credibility when it does open, assuming it does open within the next few years, which may not happen, given the real estate market being overpriced.

[KatieLoeb]

mcnamara's probably also.

i think he was the first in the area to really do really good bar food, preceding standard tap

While this may be true in the larger sense, Ben McNamara was doing phenomenal plated "fine dining" food at Isabella's long before he turned The New Wave into something more than merely Dmitri's "waiting room". Whilst the entire menu at New Wave has suffered in his absence, I am personally pleased that his new digs at the Dark Horse are equidistant from my front door! I still haven't been, but will stop by sometime soon, without doubt.

[herbacidal]

This is from this week's NYT want ads:

Nationally recognized Phila

seafood restr with state of the

art exhibition kitchen, $6 Mil

vol & Phila's most beautiful

dining room seeks EXEC CHEF,

Salary six figures, benefits.

FAX resume 215-732XXXX

You know I thought of SB when I saw it!

Lisa

you know, i didn't think striped bass exec chef would make six figures.

hmm.

[herbacidal]

[Whilst the entire menu at New Wave has suffered in his absence, I am personally pleased that his new digs at the Dark Horse are equidistant from my front door!  I still haven't been, but will stop by sometime soon, without doubt.

yea, i guess i haven't heard about them bringing in anybody to replace ben at new wave.

have been to dark horse though, but just for a drink. i like how it's all broken out into rooms. never made it there when it was dickens inn.