In American restaurants — at least in those that don’t operate under the French brigade system — it’s perfectly kosher to move from kitchen to kitchen to gain experience. This chef shuffle is expected. But maybe not so fast as one recent turnover.
Before his most recent job at the helm of Nosh, Silo’s casual, late-night experiment, Dorian Mills was the long-time Executive Chef and Manager at the very different Guenther House. But when I called Nosh/Silo to check on some of Mills’s other priors, I was told, “He’s actually moved on; I don’t know where.” At a little more than two months, that turns a shuffle into a sprint.
Another chef with a quick pass through Silo kitchens, this one at the 1604operation, is Brian West, formerly of his own Café Paladar. West may well have crossed paths with Silo’s well-known Executive Chef, Mark Bliss, while a banquet chef at Biga, but this Silo gig was also a relatively short engagement. West has landed on his feet with a demanding position as Executive Chef for La Contessa Hotel and its flagship restaurant Las Ramblas on the River Walk. Let’s hope he stays; Las Ramblas could use some shuffling of its own.
