An ultra-talented chef and a distinguished restaurant make a great pair.
Innovative chef Lia Fallon has been named the Executive Chef of The Riverhead Project.
The former owner and chef of Amarelle in Wading River, Fallon began her career at The Food Network working with celebrity chefs such as Emeril Lagasse and Bobby Flay.
At her most recent stint at Jedediah Hawkins Inn, she earned a 3.5 star rating from Newsday’s Peter Gianotti.
“I have known Lia for a long time and fate kind of dropped her in my lap,” said The Riverhead Project’s owner Dennis McDermott. “We’re really excited to have her and expect great things.”
Fallon has already started in the kitchen and will be tweaking the menu over the next few weeks with dishes that highlight her eclectic style, which should be a great fit with The Riverhead Project’s creative and elegant vibe.
Ms. Fallon is The Riverhead Project’s second new executive chef in roughly four weeks.
In April, Mr. McDermott hired Roy Wohlars, formerly of South Edison in Montauk, as the restaurant’s head chef after the departure of longtime Greg Ling.
Mr. McDermott attributed Mr. Wohlars’ dismissal to “creative differences.”
“Sometimes things just don’t work out,” Mr. McDermott said.
Alternately, the dynamic between him and Ms. Fallon, Mr. McDermott said, is more in line with the Riverhead Project’s menu and overall direction.
“She’s definitely my first choice,” Mr. McDermott said. “I’ve known her the last five years. It’s funny how the universe brought us back together again. She’s been with me a little more than a week and it’s just been sheer bliss. I look forward to developing her style and the restaurant’s style together.”
