I heard through the grapevine (hey, it is harvest!) that Jerome Waag, currently a sous chef at ~CHEZ PANISSE~, has been named restaurant chef; he would be taking over the position David Tanis vacated a few months ago. Unfortunately I heard the rumor too late for me to be able to confirm with the fine folks at Chez Panisse, and was unable to reach Waag before post time for my column (I have a plane to catch!). But I have a couple sources who were rather confident about the news.
So if the rumor proves to be true, big congratulations to Jerome, who has been a part of the Chez family for a very long time. He is also a founder of OPENrestaurant, and later this month is off to Japan for their latest project. Exciting times. I look forward to catching up with him soon—and hearing confirmed details about his new position (it was previously structured as a six-month schedule each year).
UPDATE: Now that I have returned from my travels, I was able to reach Waag, who confirmed he is the new co-chef, and will be taking over David Tanis’s six-month schedule starting in May 2012.
Photo from Chez Panisse on Facebook.
