Latest news with #Canlis
Eater
04-06-2025
- Business
- Eater
Canlis Just Hired Its First-Ever Seattle-Born Executive Chef
For months, Canlis has been searching for its next executive chef, one of the most coveted gigs in the Seattle restaurant scene, if not the country. After interviewing candidates from all over the world, owner Mark Canlis has picked someone a little closer to home: James Huffman, the current executive sous chef. Canlis loves to do the unexpected, and hiring from within definitely counts as a surprise. The last two people to lead the kitchen at Canlis were Brady Ishiwata Williams, who won a James Beard Award before moving on to open Tomo in White Center, and Aisha Ibrahim, who was recently a James Beard semifinalist and left Canlis earlier this year to pursue opening her own restaurant somewhere outside Seattle. Both had worked at Michelin-starred restaurants and moved to Seattle to take the job. Huffman, by contrast, is a local product. He grew up in Lake Forest Park, and has worked in the local restaurant industry since he was a 16-year-old at Kidd Valley. He later got a gig at the famous Eastside fine dining destination Cafe Juanita, and has been at Canlis for the past nine years, working his way up the kitchen ladder under both Williams and Ibrahim. As noted by the Seattle Times , the first outlet to share the news, he's the first person born in Seattle to be Canlis's executive chef. Mark Canlis, who has been the restaurant's sole owner since the recent departure of his brother Brian, says that this hire is a landmark for Canlis in a sense. In prior hiring cycles, the brothers may have felt they had to elevate the restaurant by bringing in an outsider who had cooked in some of the world's best kitchens. But at this point, Canlis itself probably qualifies as one of the world's best kitchens, capable of incubating its own talent. 'There were seasons in the past where we definitely needed to bring in outside input. We needed voices. We needed new ideas,' says Canlis. Now, he says, 'the restaurant is strong enough to be producing people capable of doing the job... It's cool to not need to go to the other side of the world to bring in someone to run a Seattle restaurant.' Since Ibrahim left in April, Huffman has been leading the kitchen on an interim basis, and has added new items on the menu as the seasons change, a kind of extended tryout. One of those dishes in particular wowed guests, a kalbi-style beef dish that comes with spring onions cooked by burying them in charcoal and onion tops. 'You could take the beef off the beef dish and serve the onion as its own dish,' says Canlis. Throughout this process, Canlis has been less focused on the food than leadership qualities; it goes without saying the executive chef at Canlis needs to have amazing chops as a chef. 'This guy embodies the values of our company — he's trustworthy and generous and other-centered,' says Canlis. 'I stayed here for so long because those things just connected with me so naturally and were already a part of who I am, putting people first, caring about your neighbors and your community,' says Huffman. Especially since this is a hiring from within, there likely won't be drastic changes at Canlis (the salad isn't going anywhere). The things Huffman wants to focus on are behind the scenes, like a renewed focus on supporting local farmers and producers. 'Those are the people that we want to approach and invest in and make sure that they feel seen and that their product is respected,' Huffman says. He adds that it's also important that 'the cooks within our walls and the dining room team, they all feel seen and respected and that we're caring for them in the right way.' Sign up for our newsletter.
Yahoo
05-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
The Brothers Behind Seattle's Most Iconic Restaurant Are Splitting Up
One of the country's longest-standing fine-dining restaurants is about to undergo a major shakeup. The brothers behind Seattle's Canlis are parting ways, and the restaurant's executive chef and sous-chef are leaving, The New York Times reported on Wednesday. Mark Canlis will remain to run the restaurant that his grandfather opened in 1950, while Brian Canlis will move with his family to Nashville. Meanwhile, chef Aisha Ibrahim and her wife, sous-chef Samantha Beaird, are departing with plans of opening their own spot in a bigger market. More from Robb Report This $4.7 Million Seattle Houseboat Lets You Watch the Sunset Over Lake Union From a Hot Tub Starbucks's New CEO Is Under Fire for His Private-Jet Commute From SoCal to Seattle How This Dutch Colonial Home in Seattle Was Transformed Into a Design-Savvy Boutique Hotel 'What we did early on was establish sort of the stuff that was really important to us, taking the way we were raised as kids and the way we saw the restaurant moving through the world. And sort of codify that,' Mark told the Times. 'And that worked for 20 years together, and now we're asking the question, 'If this is true about Brian and his life, then what? If this is true that flourishing for him looks like not being in the restaurant, then what?'' The Canlis brothers took over the restaurant from their parents in 2005, The New York Times noted. It was already a beloved institution in the Pacific Northwest by then, and the two turned it into a big deal across the country. Former chef Jason Franey received three consecutive James Beard Award nominations for his work there, while his successor Brady Williams was named Best Chef: Northwest by the same organization in 2019. Ibrahim took over the kitchen in 2021, and since then she's won numerous accolades, including a spot on our own list of the rising power players in American fine dining. She and Beaird are thinking of opening their own spot in New York or Los Angeles, where Ibrahim will focus on regional Filipino cooking, the Times wrote. 'The dream has always been to open my own restaurant and have my own stars,' Ibrahim told the newspaper. As for Brian, along with his family's relocation to Nashville, he's working on a project with Will Guidara, The New York Times reported. Guidara is best known for changing the face of fine-dining hospitality with his work at Eleven Madison Park, and more recently he's received renown for his work on The Bear. He and Brian have been best friends since college. Brian and Mark are now looking for a new chef to head up Canlis, and Mark knows that the massive changes may not be easy. 'One key piece of this whole story for me is: Maybe the way through a tenuous time for our industry is exactly this: If we stopped putting the need for the business to make it first, maybe if we let go of that need,' he told the Times. 'Maybe Canlis makes it to 75 years, which will be December, and that's it.' Brian, though, has faith in his brother and his ability to carry on the family legacy at the Seattle institution. Best of Robb Report Why a Heritage Turkey Is the Best Thanksgiving Bird—and How to Get One 9 Stellar West Coast Pinot Noirs to Drink Right Now The 10 Best Wines to Pair With Steak, From Cabernet to Malbec Click here to read the full article.
Yahoo
05-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Canlis restaurant to see major changes with ownership, chef
Canlis restaurant, Seattle's iconic fine-dining establishment, is facing significant changes as executive chef Aisha Ibrahim and co-owner Brian Canlis both announced their departures, according to Seattle MET. Ibrahim and her wife, executive sous chef Samantha Beaird, will leave April 8 to pursue their dream of opening their own restaurant. Brian Canlis will relocate to Nashville in early June to work with renowned restaurateur Will Guidara. Ibrahim, the seventh executive chef in Canlis's history, has garnered numerous accolades, including a James Beard Award semifinalist nomination and a spot on the 2023 Food and Wine Best New Chefs list. She and Beaird joined Canlis in 2021 after working in Asia. Their new restaurant will be in New York or Los Angeles, and Ibrahim plans to showcase her southern Filipino heritage. Brian Canlis's departure marks a major shift for the restaurant, which celebrates its 75th anniversary this December. He expressed that his priorities have changed as he's gotten older and now has a family of his own. He will sell his share of the restaurant to his brother, Mark, and his wife, Anne Marie, but will remain on the board. Anne Marie Canlis has also joined the restaurant and executive team. Mark Canlis acknowledged the difficulty of these changes but emphasized the importance of supporting his employees' growth, even if it means their departure. He highlighted the restaurant's philosophy of 'turning toward' one another, a concept now being studied at Harvard Business School. The restaurant has begun its search for a new executive chef. Despite the changes, the Canlis brothers, along with Ibrahim, have plans for menu updates and events later this year. Mark Canlis affirmed that the restaurant's creative spirit will continue, even without Brian's day-to-day involvement. He emphasized that his other brother, Matt, remains committed to his work as a pastor and has no plans to join the restaurant business.
