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Heading into fall, a new team of seasoned local chefs is leading the kitchen at one of Denver’s 38 Essential Restaurants, the Populist in RiNo. Leading them as executive chef is Theo Adley, who once owned the Pinyon in Boulder and previously trained at the Little Nell in Aspen. Alongside Adley, Russell Stippich has been hired on as chef de cuisine. Stippich previously worked in the kitchen at Acorn and last served as executive chef of Hotel Teatro’s the Nickel. Both chefs also trained at the Squeaky Bean and Frasca. Kathryn Caine, the Populist’s former executive chef, moved on earlier this year to work at Death & Co.
Across town in Congress Park, Jeff Osaka is seeking a new chef to fill Ashley McBrady’s leading role at 12 @ Madison, another Essential Denver Restaurant. McBrady left the restaurant on September 7 after nearly two years at its helm, Westword reports. During that time, she helped Osaka catapult the remake of his original Twelve to fame and was one of five chefs nominated for Eater’s 2017 Denver Chef of the Year award. Osaka is now looking for an independent chef to run his compact Congress Park restaurant, and McBrady is planning on taking some time off before her next kitchen gig.
At the 18-month-old Low Country Kitchen in LoHi, a new chef de cuisine is taking over for starting chef Travis Phillips. Sean Yeats was most recently the sous chef at this Southern restaurant’s original, Steamboat Springs location. He’s now moved to Denver to continue cooking some of Low’s favorite dishes — 48-hour fried chicken, buttermilk biscuits, and fried green tomato BLT sandwiches. Since opening their second Low last year in Denver, owners Brian and Katy Vaughn have introduced a fried chicken and Champagne brunch and added on to the dining room with a rooftop patio. The “bucket and bubbles” secured this restaurant’s place on our list of Essential Brunches.