Chef Shuffles

Chef Dustin Taylor Joins AK Supper Club in Venice

Taylor's gazpacho with bread paste and bacon snow
Taylor’s gazpacho with bread paste and bacon snow Photo: Tatiana Arbogast

AK Supper Club first popped-up last month in Venice, replacing Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing at Capri. Though this desirable address may have been recently re-commanded by David Reiss of The Brig, A-Frame, Alibi Room, and Sunny Spot, the pop-up is still organized and operated by Alona Hamilton-Cooke, Capri’s longtime owner who has maintained a steady presence in the world of Westside restaurants since launching West Beach Cafe with Capo, Cora, and House Cafe chef-owner Bruce Marder in 1979. French Laundry veteran Kevin Kathman is still in the kitchen cooking, while another chef has recently joined him, mirroring the double-headed approach of Wolf Sheep’s Clothing.

Dustin Taylor, an alumni of New York’s Daniel, Alain Ducasse, Waverly Place, The Standard, and L’Atelier de Joël Robuchon, recently bailed Gotham after helping to open Chez Moi in Brooklyn. He’s now cooking alongside Kathman, preparing dishes of his own design like the gazpacho with almonds, bacon snow, and bread paste you see here, taking its places next to the other chef’s own creations.

As to the long-term potential of keeping both Taylor and Kathman squeezed into the space, Hamilton-Cooke tells Grub Street, “Dustin and Kevin are both working for the restaurant. If it goes for a while this might change.” The owner is open to bringing in different chefs from time to time for the AK Supper Club concept she hopes to keep locked in at this location for awhile.

For now you can find both Kathman and Taylor cooking on Abbot-Kinney, while the pop-up recently introduced its own Facebook page.

Chef Dustin Taylor Joins AK Supper Club in Venice