Ben Davison Will Replace Dana Rodriguez as Chef de Cuisine at Bistro Vendôme

Bistro Vendôme, the French restaurant owned by chef Jennifer Jasinski and her partner Beth Gruitch, is bringing on Ben Davison as its new chef de cuisine, starting July 17. Davison is replacing chef Dana Rodriguez who is moving on to helm the kitchen at the upcoming Work & Class restaurant, which will open this fall.

Working for chef Jasinski won't be totally new for Davison who now splits his time between Rioja and Euclid Hall. His cooking history in Denver is, however, more extensive. The chef graduated from the Colorado Institute of Arts, School of Culinary Arts in 1996 and worked, among others at Castle Pines Country Club and Mel's Restaurant & Bar, the now-closed classic Cherry Creek restaurant.

Wanting to pursue bigger challenges in a bigger city, Davison moved to Philadelphia where he spent five years working as poissonnier at the iconic Le Bec Fin under George Perrier and a stint as sous chef at Striped Bass. Davison returned to Denver to serve as opening chef de cuisine at the Elway's in the Ritz Carlton Hotel in January 2008. He has since worked for the Ritz Carlton brand in Key Biscayne, Florida, St. Louis, Missouri, and Cleveland, Ohio.

With family in Parker and many other Colorado connections, Ben and his wife Jodi made the decision to return to the Mile High City. When the chef opening at Bistro Vendôme was announced, he jumped at the chance to work with Jasinski and Gruitch. Coincidentally, chef Jasinski had introduced Ben to his now-wife in 2001 at a Do at the Zoo event when Jody worked for Wolfgang Puck Cafe and Ben was serving as executive chef at Mel's.

· Rioja Chef Jennifer Jasinski Confirms Competing on Top Chef Masters [EDen]
· Work & Class, a New Restaurant, Will Open in RiNo [EDen]