Chef and co-owner Grant van Gameren leaves the Black Hoof (UPDATED)
About an hour ago on Twitter, news broke that the Black Hoof’s founding chef and co-owner, Grant van Gameren, was no longer involved with the restaurant:
Its been AMAZING feeding all you over the years!BUT, I am no longer affiliated with the Black Hoof. Please follow me @grantvangameren PLS RT
No news yet on the reasons behind the move or on van Gameren’s future plans, although a follow-up tweet confirms that he’s leaving “in an amicable split.” We’re also curious about what this means for Black Hoof and Company, the fine-dining restaurant that van Gameren and co-owner Jen Agg were to launch next spring.
UPDATE: Agg spoke to The Dish this afternoon to clarify that the breakup between the two owners was perfectly amicable. “This is something we’ve been talking about for a long time,” she said of the split over the direction of the business. “The story is that it is no story.” Agg confirmed that she is now the sole owner. She noted that diners should not expect any great changes at the Black Hoof, not least because chef Brandon Olsen has been running the kitchen already for months (apparently about half of the menu consists of his creations) while van Gameren took on a more executive role in the company. Plans for the Black Hoof and Company have been put on ice and the Black Hoof Cocktail Bar, which opened earlier this month, will continue on in its current location.
