Ironside Fish & Oyster Assembles Strong Kitchen Team

Ever since CH Projects first announced their next property to come online, Ironside Fish & Oyster, curious Eater readers have been asking us to share more about the hospitality group's plans for most food-focused endeavor yet.

Executive chef Jason McLeod tells Eater that he's been delving deep into local fishing culture to source the product on which their seasonal, seafood-centric menu will hinge. McLeod just scored two talented chefs who've recently departed other San Diego kitchens; his new chef de cuisine is Jose "JoJo" Ruiz, who spent two years at The Oceanaire Seafood Room and has been Brian Malarkey's right hand man since Searsucker opened in 2010. Most recently, Ruiz ran the kitchen at Malarkey's Herringbone; a rep for the La Jolla restaurant says that a replacement there has not yet been identified.

Ironside's bread and pastry program will be overseen by Donna Antaloczy, who was the head bread baker at Rancho Valencia's Veladora. Antaloczy has some impressive past gigs on her resume, including stints at Nine-Ten, Gordon Ramsay at the London New York and Thomas Keller's Bouchon Bakery in Yountville. McLeod says she'll handle everything from baking bread for the restaurant's lobster rolls to making brunch pastries.
·Ironside Fish & Oyster [Official Site]
·All Chef Shuffles [~ESD~]

[Photo: JoJo Ruiz]