Adam Vickerman departs Trattoria Tosca

Adam Vickerman, head chef at popular Linden Hills restaurant Trattoria Tosca, left his position as of last Saturday.  His exit, which was made on good terms according to Tosca general manager, Kate Hill, comes less than twelve months after he joined Tosca from Cafe Levain, where he was previously head chef.  Vickerman's replacement is Ryan Zander, former sous-chef at 112 Eatery, and Vickerman is now working as a line chef at Sea Change and plans to move to Haute Dish when it opens next month.

Vickerman cites wanting to step back and learn from other chefs as a main reason for his departure. "Jumping into being a chef too early, you don't get a chance to be able to learn as much as you'd like to - whether that be technique, creativity, management, etc." He expects to pick up a lot cooking at two different restaurants with very different styles of food. "Just one day in a different kitchen can be eye opening," he says, "a jolt of creative ideas start flowing...Whatever I end up doing in the future, taking this step back for awhile will allow me to take two steps forward when the time comes."

The move comes not long after Remle Colestock's departure in December as head chef at Levain, which together with Tosca is run by Turtle Bread Company owner, Harvey McLain.  Colestock's position was filled by Neil Fredrickson, the former sous-chef under Colestock.

Colestock, meanwhile, is set to be sous-chef at Haute Dish, where he and Vickerman will be reunited with Landon Schoenefeld, Vickerman's predecessor at Tosca. Hill said it feels like "everyone is staying in the family."

As for what customers can expect with Zander taking over as head chef, it's too early to make many predictions.  For the time being, Zander is sticking with Vickerman's menu, although his long-term creative concepts are yet to be laid out.

Hill did, however, suggest that there may be some adjustments to the menu and pricing.  "Our menu has been very small and concise, but it will probably get a little bit larger," she said.  "We may also shoot to get the price points a bit lower."