Hunter Pritchett, Executive Chef at Luca d'Italia, Parts Ways With the Restaurant

Hunter Pritchett, the executive chef at Luca d'Italia, one of Frank Bonanno's restaurants, is leaving the Capitol Hill Italian eatery to work the kitchen at Son of a Gun in Los Angeles. "My fiancee Katie and I are moving westward to pursue opportunities in Los Angeles," Pritchett says. "I am very excited to be working with Jon Shook and Vinny Dotolo of Animal and Son of a Gun Restaurants," he adds.

Pritchett, a Vermont native, came to Denver four years ago from Las Vegas. "For me, Denver was sort of a middle ground between Las Vegas and Vermont," he explains. He immediately took at job with Bonanno at Luca d'Italia. "I applied for a job at Osteria Marco, but ended up at Luca," he says. Four years later, Pritchett is ready to pursue new opportunities in Los Angeles.

"Denver has been great to me, providing me with opportunity to create killer food in an excellent restaurant community, a future wife, and countless friends," Pritchett acknowledges. "Unfortunately it's my time to depart and I'm going where the weather suits my clothes," he adds. He will begin his new job at Animal on February 5.

Pritchett's position will be taken by Eric Cimino, the restaurant's pasta chef, who has been working at Luca for a year and a half.

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