Dylan Giordan (right, above), Chef de Cuisine at Serafina Osteria and Enoteca, has been promoted by owner Susan Kaufman (left, above) to the position of executive chef. He replaces John Neumark, who will vacate his posts as executive chef, wine director, and catering director at the Eastlake Avenue restaurant by year’s end to pursue other passions. Salomon Navarro will be taking over the wine program, and Rachel Shreffler will become the new Pastry Chef.    

Chef Giordan has been at Serafina since 2001, acting as chef de cuisine during the past four years. Growing up in the U.S. heartland, near the dairy farms north of Chicago, Giordan has long felt an intangible connection to the land and its gifts. His earliest food memories involve picking snap peas and cherry tomatoes from the vine and eating them instantly, the smell of the earth and stem still strong. 

His first job was in a pizza parlor run by a Sicilian pizza rebel, Angelo DiGiacomo. Through college, Giordan continued his restaurant training, eventually working under Mark Chmielewski at Toque in Chicago. After moving to the Pacific Northwest, Giordan worked for Christine Keff and Steve Smirstik at Flying Fish. In 2001, Giordan decided to follow his roots –to go Italian–and has added handmade cured meats, cheeses, ice cream, pastas, and sausages to Serafina’s repertoire.