Chef Shuffles: Changes at Cecconi's, Bouchon Bistro and FigOly

New chef, same room at Cecconi's

By Lesley Balla

'Tis the season for chef swapping. There's big news coming out of several kitchens, which means new things for some restaurants, and keeping things copacetic at others. First up, at Cecconi's, sous chef Alessio Biangini has been named chef de cuisine while corporate chef Andrea Cavaliere oversees the West Hollywood Italian restaurant as well as the Soho House. Italian-born Biangini make his mark starting tonight, with the on Tuesday night Tris de Pasta menus - three unique pasta dishes drawn from local, seasonal ingredients.

It was recently announced that Rory Herrmann left Bouchon Bistro, which he opened with the Keller group nearly three years ago. Rory was very vocal and visible at the restaurant and especially when he'd man the giant raw bar at many local events. His replacement is executive sous chef David Hands, who's put in time both in Beverly Hills and at Per Se in New York. Because the restaurant is pretty identical at all locations (Napa, Vegas), there probably won't be any real significant changes to the menu.

In a not-so-shocking turn, Alex Reznik is no longer with FigOly, the ginormous multi-everything restaurant at the new Luxe City Center hotel across from L.A. Live. Reznik, who was last at La Seine and also a former Top Chef contestant, may have just been on board to consult for awhile, but the restaurant isn't cashing in on Staples or Nokia crowds as of yet, so maybe it was just time to move on. As far as we can tell, the menu is pretty much the same (meatballs, pizzas, pastas, veal shanks) and will continue to be so.