Tuesday, August 4, 2009
Restaurants Aaron Russell leaves the Chocolate Bar
Posted by Robyn Baitcher on Tue, Aug 4, 2009 at 4:54 PM
Prominent Atlanta pastry chef Aaron Russell of Decatur's Chocolate Bar notified the restaurant yesterday that he will not return to work. Since new management took over The Chocolate Bar this year, staff members have been uncomfortable with menu changes centered around the new restaurant location in Castleberry Hill, said Russell.
It's rumored that several other staff members also quit yesterday in support of Russell.
Russell said he has had "to endure a long, slow slide into mediocrity" since original owner Karen Britain left The Chocolate Bar early this year. Russell originally teamed with current the Porter Beer Bar Chef Nick Rutherford (both had previously worked at Seeger's) as co-chefs for the Chocolate Bar under Britain when it opened in 2007.
According to Russell, the new Chocolate Bar menus will only be printed once a year - so seasonal changes or creativity are out of the question.
"It's not the kind of restaurant or the kind of food I'd like to be associated with," he said.
Russell said he's had several job offers already, but has not yet made a decision about where he'll go next.
Comments (7)
Showing 1-7 of 7
dude just threw the chocolate bar owner under the bus. always two sides to one story.
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I was never impressed with the Chocolate bar since it first opened; starchy chocolates, watery drinks, it just wasn't good, and it sounds like things are getting worse.
there are two sides to every story. in this case, i believe aaron has remained more than neutral until the very end. i'm sure almost all the staff at the chocolate bar will miss aaron and the orginal concept. speaking of the way it used to be, the desserts were amazing, the chocolates were edible pieces of art, and the drinks were pretty damned good too. (especially that passion fruit whiskey sour.. mmmm)
It's been my experience that there are two sides to every story and every culinary professional knows you don't go around throwing your boss, previous or otherwise under a bus-regardless of what it's made of :) I would take another look at the restaurant on any given Saturday night-they seemed to keep going without missing a beat... Desserts are still good, and the Chocolate Bar Martini is awesome!
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