WILSHIRE RESTAURANT ANNOUNCES NYESHA ARRINGTON AS EXECUTIVE CHEF

Restaurant Launches Another Emerging Talent with Protégé of Josiah Citrin and Contestant on New “Top Chef: Texas”

Wilshire Restaurant in Santa Monica announces that Nyesha Arrington, a protégé of restaurateur and Chef Josiah Citrin, has been hired as the restaurant’s new Executive Chef.  Arrington has just been named among the 29 competing chefs on Bravo’s “Top Chef: Texas,” premiering Wednesday, November 2 at 10 p.m. ET/PT.

After an organic process and search for someone to lead the kitchen, Arrington was singled out as the only choice that fit Wilshire’s sensibility. Known as a stage for emerging culinary talent that cultivated the careers of Christopher Blobaum and Andrew Kirchner, Arrington steps into her first position as Executive Chef, a job that General Manager Nick Fielding is certain that she is prepared for from her impressive work history. Owner Steve Levine was impressed with both Arrington’s passion for cooking and the food she prepared for her tasting dinner audition. “Nyesha is a master of classic technique, but she also has a terrific imagination which inspires her to create inventive, thoughtful, and beautifully executed dishes,” states Levine.

Arrington worked with legendary French chef Joël Robuchon at his Michelin and Mobil award-winning Las Vegas restaurants, L’Atelier and The Mansion. She has worked under Josiah Citrin at Melisse, Lemon Moon and Caché, and enthusiastically credits Citrin as her biggest inspiration and career mentor.  While at Caché, she was named a Rising Star by Brad Johnson of Angeleno in 2010.  She has been featured in Restaurant Hospitality, on StarChefs.com and was a guest chef at the popular Test Kitchen restaurant in 2011.

Arrington joined the restaurant August, 2011 and is currently familiarizing herself with her kitchen team, the front of the house and the current Wilshire menu.  As Arrington settles in, her influences and personal imprint have impacted the nightly menu, reflecting her personal style and tastes of the guests.  Her new menus for dinner, lunch and the bar are in development and expected to be finalized by mid-October.

Wilshire’s contemporary urban cuisine menu is firmly grounded in classic technique.  The seasonal menu is defined by simplicity and balance and shows diversity with market-based ingredients. In addition to the weekly menu, Wilshire also features a selection of wood-grilled prime steaks with a variety of house-made sauces and side dishes.

Wilshire has been featured in the Los Angeles Times, the Wall Street Journal, Angeleno, Food & Wine and Bon Appetit and was voted as one of the top 15 restaurants in the city
by Los Angeles magazine.  In 2008, Wilshire received a coveted 3 star review from S. Irene Virbila from the Los Angeles Times.

Wilshire’s superb wine list was sited as one of the “Best New American Wine Lists” by Food & Wine magazine in 2006 and lists 250 selections, including organic and biodynamic offerings.  The restaurant actively supports local, organic, and sustainable purveyors and utilizes practices that promote energy conservation and a better quality of life for the community, such as the use of recyclable building materials and the use of biodegradable containers. The restaurant was honored with a Grand Prize in the city of Santa Monica’s 2007 Sustainable Quality Awards.

For reservations, the public can call:
Wilshire Restaurant
2454 Wilshire Boulevard, Santa Monica, CA 90403
310.586.1707 or visit www.OpenTable.com
Visit Wilshire Restaurant on the Web at
www.Wilshirerestaurant.com and on Facebook at
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Santa-Monica-CA/Wilshire-Restaurant/44436386422?ref=mf