New Chefs Step In at Telegraph, Brazen, Honor Society

Wash Park's Telegraph brought on-board a New York City transplant to replace the chef position left vacant by chef Brian Wilson. Jared Bleen, a classically-trained chef who studied at the French Culinary Institute in Manhattan, joined the team led by owner Chris Sargent. Bleen's prior work experience includes Guilt, Momofuku, and Narcissa. Since he took over, he revamped the menu to add a $5 dollar tapas-driven happy hour. New on the dinner menu is the chilled corn and coconut soup with avocado and micro cilantro and a sous vide then grilled Spanish octopus with chorizo and fennel, among others.

Sargent's other restaurant, Brazen, has also seen its own kitchen shakeup. Chef Carrie Baird departed earlier this summer to pursue a yet-to-be-announced opportunity. The Berkeley restaurant brought on chef Jonathan Mendoza of Eat Bad Apples, a pop-up dinner club. Mendoza's experience also includes working at Uncle.

Chef Josh Chesterson, who spent the last few years cooking alongside Hosea Rosenberg at Blackbelly and Blackbelly Catering, is now running the culinary operations at Honor Society. The fine-casual restaurant opened a year ago with chef Justin Brunson at the helm. Chesterson brings a wealth of experience to the concept, including stints at Denver's Colt & Gray and New York's acclaimed Blue Hill at Stone Barns.