David Carrier has been removed as the executive chef of Kith & Kin, and is being replaced by the chef de cuisine Andrew Brochu. The move seems extremely odd considering the restaurant’s popularity and overwhelmingly positive reviews this past year. The move was also made while Carrier was visiting his wife in Atlanta, meaning the whole thing went down over the phone. No official statement has been released, and there is still the smallest glimmer of hope that all can be reconciled. But Michael Nagrant, writing for Hungry Mag, was able to get an interview with Carrier immediately after the event, and things don’t look good.
Carrier claims that he was fired by Ash Taleb, a partner for Kith & Kin, because he refused to increase the prices of some dishes and because he yelled at some of the staff. Kith & Kin was known for having some sandwiches and entrées at reasonable prices. We actually included one in our best sandwiches in the city list. But with the restaurant getting more publicity, Taleb wanted more high-end entrees. As for the yelling, Carrier told Nagrant that he only yelled when “people were not living up to expectations.”
Nagrant also talked to Ash’s brother and business partner, Moe Taleb, and he said that “nothing has been decided,” and that all three may meet up tomorrow to figure out what to do. All of this also coincides with the development of a new upscale restaurant called Table in Andersonville, which all three were working on. Things will probably get a whole lot uglier.
The message came from Michael Nagrant’s Hungry Mag, a publication which has been way too silent for the past year (with the glaring exception of last week’s hilarious Girl & the Goat review). Nagrant has been a vocal fan of Kith & Kin since it opened, and it seemed to really bother him. He starts the post declaring: “One of the best new chefs in Chicago just got fired.”
We’ll keep you updated throughout the day as the story develops.
The Kith and Kin Break Up [Hungry Mag]
