Starting July 1, Sous Chef Ferrell Alvarez, Marty Blitz's right-hand-man for many years at Mise en Place, is moving to the Executive Chef slot at Cafe Dufrain. Also making the switch in October is Ty Rodriguez, General Manager at Mise.
Ferrell and Andy Bonnemort, owners of Cafe Dufrain, couldn't be happier, although they came to learn of Chef Ferrell's interest in a round-about way. Ferrell Bonnemort called Chef Ferrell (yes, same name, different genders, different pronounciations) for a reference on another candidate and when she described the position, he said, "Hey, I might be interested in that." At first, Ferrell turned him down, since she wasn't interested in "stealing" away a chef from a fellow indie restaurant owner. But Chef Ferrell doggedly pursued the position, also asking if Ty Rodriguez could be considered for the General Manager opening (Cafe Dufrain was also looking to replace their current GM, who is leaving in October to go to nursing school). A package deal made in restaurant heaven.
After Andy and Ferrell both met Ty and Ferrell, they knew they'd found the right team. Bonnemort said, "All the right elements just fell into place. We combed through over 400 applicants and Alvarez and Rodriguez are clearly who we need to take us to the next level."
Surprisingly, there are no hard feelings coming from Mise en Place co-owner Maryann Ferenc, who said, "It's a positive thing... I'm ridiculously happy for them. All things happen as they're supposed to..."
