A recent shot of Leonti (center) posing with Marc Vetri, Lidia Bastianich, Alex Pilas, and Mark Ladner at Eataly Chicago before this year's Beard Awards.
Adam Leonti, chef de cuisine at renowned Vetri since 2011, will leave his position by early June, making way for a move to New York. The split was reported by the Insider, who gleaned from Marc Vetri that Leonti's next move was opening a "forthcoming hotel restaurant" in Brooklyn. There's no word yet on who will assume Leonti's title, though Vetri assured the Insider that sous chefs Joe DiLago and Pat Boyer are well positioned to keep things running smoothly.
Leonti was integral to Vetri's 2011 transition away from a la carte dining into what Bill Addison last year called "one of the country's most playful and singular takes on the tasting menu format." But his time at Vetri began a few years earlier, interrupted by a move to Italy that was intended to be permanent, until he was called back for the promotion. At the age of 28, he was named a member of the inaugural Eater Young Guns class of 2012, and also made the Forbes 30 Under 30 list that same year.
Eater Philly has reached out to Leonti to confirm the details of his next move, so stay tuned for more as the story develops.
