Chef Shuffle

Former Danny Meyer Employee Takes Eleven Madison Park’s Exec Sous Chef

Jason Franey: Westward, ho!
Jason Franey: Westward, ho! Photo: Courtesy of Canlis

The folks at Canlis Restaurant, a nearly 60-year-old Seattle institution, tell us that after a year-long search, third-generation owners Mark and Brian Canlis have hired a new executive chef, effective December 1— he’s none other than Jason Franey, an executive sous chef that Daniel Humm brought on at Eleven Madison Park in 2006. A curious move, since Mark Canlis once worked for Danny Meyer’s Union Square Hospitality Group. No doubt Meyer is saying, “Et tu, Brute?”

Update: We’ve come to learn more about this deal. Ready to hear how your sausage is made? According to a Canlis rep, Mark Canlis helped to open Blue Smoke and was then brought on to be a manager at Eleven Madison Park. He eventually returned to Seattle to oversee his family’s restaurant. It was Eleven Madison Park’s GM, Will Guidara— a college roommate of Brian Canlis who is also on Canlis restaurant’s board of directors— who helped connect the restaurant with Chef Franey. So there you have it— everyone’s happy. But one question remains: Who will be the new executive sous chef at Eleven Mad?

Former Danny Meyer Employee Takes Eleven Madison Park’s Exec Sous Chef