has been named vice president for culinary innovation at IHOP.
In her new position, Grimm will work with marketing and menu development teams on the 1,565-unit family-dining chain’s menu.
Most recently, Grimm, who has more than 20 years’ experience in menu development, spent six-and-a-half years as director of culinary development for Olive Garden. Prior to that she was director of research and development and corporate chef of Hard Rock International.
has been named Culver’s director of menu development and executive chef.
Before joining the 475-unit quick-service chain, Letizia was director of culinary innovation and menu strategy at fast-casual sandwich chain Cosí Inc. Previously, she worked with various chains, including Culver’s, on menu development as a business development and culinary consultant for Kraft Foods.
has returned from Spain and is the new executive chef at five-unit La Tasca Spanish Tapas Restaurant & Bar, which has locations in the Washington, D.C., area and Baltimore.
Zubikarai helped spur Washington’s interest in Spanish cuisine when he opened Taberna del Alabardero in Washington, D.C., in 1989, where he was executive chef until 2002. That year, he returned to his hometown of San Sebastian, Spain, and ran his family restaurant there.
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Zubikarai is putting dishes such as pan-seared scallops over a Basque-style txangurro casserole made with Maryland blue crab, and butterflied shrimp with sliced avocado over mixed greens in an avocado vinaigrette on La Tasca’s spring menu.
, who won the position of executive chef at Zengo in New York City on the Food Channel’s reality show Chef Wanted with Anne Burrell, has instead taken the position of chef de cuisine at Temple Orange at the Ritz-Carlton Palm Beach in Manalapan, Fla.
Sears was most recently a personal chef and private consultant. He was also executive chef of the Bull & Bear Restaurant at the Waldorf-Astoria hotel in Orlando, Fla., from 2010 to 2012.
Another former Chef Wanted with Anne Burrell competitor, Mette Williams, is the new executive chef at Culina at the Four Seasons Los Angeles at Beverly Hills. Most recently, she was executive chef at Areal in Santa Monica, Calif.
Mette spent her formative culinary years at Wolfgang Puck’s restaurants. While attending the California Culinary Academy in San Francisco, she began work at Postrio restaurant, then moved to Los Angeles and worked as a sous chef at Spago Beverly Hills.
Adam Thomas is the new executive pastry chef at The Broadmoor hotel in Colorado Springs, Colo. Most recently executive pastry chef at The Beverly Wilshire in Beverly Hills, Calif., Thomas, a chocolate devotee, brings with him his milk chocolate hazelnut feuilletine with layers of brownie, hazelnut croquante and milk chocolate chantilly cream.
has been named executive chef of Kittichai in New York City. Born in Taiwan and raised in Vancouver, An is also the owner of Maenam, a Thai restaurant in Vancouver, British Columbia. He will divide his time between the two restaurants.
More chefs on the move
Mike Galen is the new chef de cuisine at The Bedford in Chicago, where he is making dishes such as pan-roasted halibut with hush puppies, shaved fennel salad and piquillo pepper romesco; and stout-braised lamb shoulder with leek spätzle, roasted baby carrot, watercress and salt-cured egg. Most recently, he was sous chef at Three Acres in Chicago.
is the new executive chef of Skybokx 109 GastroSports in Natick, Mass., where he has been tasked with elevating the sports-bar dining experience. He has added to the menu dishes such as braised duck pizza topped with brie, balsamic onions, roasted garlic and truffle oil; a tuna tostada with ahi chunks, sweet soy glaze, pea shoots, scallions, spicy aïoli and crispy wonton; and a short rib shepherd’s pie with horseradish mashed potato gratin. Previously, he was executive chef of The Monkey’s Paw in Chicago.
, former corporate executive pastry chef at New York City-based Esquared Hospitality, which operates the BLT restaurants and Casa Nonna, is the new executive pastry chef at Delicatessen in New York City. She is working on revamping the dessert menu, which will include her own version of an apple sticky bun bread pudding, in which the sticky bun is replaced with a chocolate almond croissant.
is the new executive chef of Amerigo, which has two locations in Nashville and Brentwood, Tenn. In his first executive chef position, Robilio has introduced a series of farmers market dinners. Most recently, he worked as a line cook at Andrew Michael Italian Kitchen and Hog & Hominy, both restaurants in Memphis operated by chefs Michael Hudman and Andy Ticer.
Marjorie Meek-Bradley is the new executive chef at Ribble in Washington, D.C. Formerly the chef de cuisine of Graffiato, also in Washington, and before that sous chef of José Andrés’ Zaytinya in Washington, she is making dishes such as lamb tartare with Meyer lemon, parsnip and amaranth; and sunchoke soup with smoked razor clams, salmon roe and watercress.
is the new executive chef at Crystal Springs Resort in Hamburg, N.J.
A native of St. Paul, Minn., and a graduate of the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, N.Y., Fisher most recently was executive chef at The Hotel Donaldson in Fargo, N.D. He has also worked at The Little Nell in Aspen, Colo., and The Inn at Little Washington in Washington, Va.
Eric Stenberg is the new chef at Alchemy Café at the Alchemy Arts Center in Santa Barbara, Calif. Most recently a founder of Out of the Box Collective, which delivers food, recipes and meal plans to homes, as well as a personal chef for a local family, Stenberg is now making dishes such as mung bean cake with seasonal vegetables in sweet potato curry sauce, as well as an Ayurvedic dish combining mung beans, quinoa, almond milk, steamed vegetables, spices, lemon and cilantro.
Contact Bret Thorn at [email protected].
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