The musical kitchen chairs continue at Maléna and L’Unità with Matthew Sullivan’s departure

Back in October, we reported that Matthew Sullivan, fresh off his abortive pop-up series Boxed, had taken over the reins at Maléna, which lost its executive chef Doug Neigel to Mercatto, which had lost its executive chef when Top Chef Canada finalist Rob Rossi left to open his own place, Bestellen, which should be opening soon (got all that?). Now, after only four months, Sullivan has taken leave of Maléna and its sister restaurant L’Unità to, you guessed it, resume his Boxed pop-ups, according to a story on Post City’s blog. For now, the two Av and Dav restaurants will be led by their current chefs de cuisine, Alex Bruveris and Mike Angeloni, respectively.

Sullivan told The Dish he was originally brought in to work on the re-branding of Maléna. “The owners felt that the re-branding was accomplished,” he told us in an email, adding that he’s confident he’s leaving the two kitchens in “very talented hands.” He also noted that he eventually plans to open his own restaurant, and, following a half-dozen pop-up meals that he’ll be serving for eight-person groups starting at the beginning of February, he’ll be taking an extended trip to Taiwan. “I’m really interested in learning more about the cuisines in that region, and hopefully afterwards, I’ll have widened my cooking perspective and have something exciting to bring back to Toronto,” he told us.