As Alison two in Fort Washington gets closer, Alison Barshak has named Anthony Bonett as chef of Alison at Blue Bell. Barshak will oversee both kitchens.
Bonett, who worked with Barshak at the opening of Striped Bass in 1994, most recently was executive chef at Oceanaire Seafood Room. A Navy vet, Bonett counts his first stop as the Restaurant School, where he apprenticed to Jean Marie LaCroix (then at the Four Seasons Hotel). He also worked at 16th Street Bar & Grill, Tony Clark’s and Joseph’s on the Avenue before becoming executive chef for the catering facility at Penn. After returning to restaurants, he worked at Philadelphia Fish & Company, Opus 251 and Oceanaire.
Amelia Dietrich, pastry chef at Alison at Blue Bell, worked with Bonett at Opus 251. (p.s. Isn't "Dietrich" the best name for a pastry chef?)
Bonett has added such dishes as tuna meatballs with caponata and saffron aioli; grilled artichoke and asparagus salad with toasted pistachio and preserved lemon; roasted lamb with date couscous, radicchio, merquez and harissa; and duck and cabbage ravioli with pecorino dolce, figs and aged balsamic to the menu at Alison at Blue Bell.
Meanwhile, Barshak says Alison two's menu will be global with Mediterranean, Southwestern and Asian influences and an emphasis on seafood.
Photo courtesy of Courtney Grant Winston