Local Top Chef alum (and one-time Grub Street Dieter) Jennifer Biesty, who’s spent the last four and a half years (since her TV stint) at Kimpton-owned Scala’s Bistro at the Sir Francis Drake, is leaving the hotel gig to work on her own Mediterranean restaurant. As she tells the Chron, it’s a decision that’s primarily about creativity, and volume. “When I cook for friends,” she says, “It reminds me that I can’t wait to have my own little kitchen.” Biesty says that over the holidays, they do 1,200 covers a day in the restaurant (breakfast, lunch, and dinner), and the Chron compares this to Nopa, which serves about 350 people a night. Biesty’s last day will be March 31, after which she’ll be focused on finding investors, and some real estate, for her dream restaurant. Stay tuned for more in the months ahead. [Chron]
