BEN ROSENTHAL AND PETER VAN ANTWERP
Ben Rosenthal is the proprietor of The Kingwood Tavern, which has opened at 650 Rt 519, Frenchtown (908-777-5000). He is a former winemaker, beverage consultant, wine and spirits merchant, and now the current host. Peter Van Antwerp is the executive chef.
JOSH SAUER NAMED EXECUTIVE CHEF AT AVENUE, LONG BRANCH
Avenue, 23 Ocean Avenue, Long Branch (732-759-2900)—celebrating its tenth year as an oasis of French regional cuisine right on the boardwalk—has named Josh Sauer, previously chef de cuisine, as executive chef. Sauer joined the restaurant more than eight years ago as a line cook. After graduating in 2004 from Brookdale’s Culinary Arts Program, he interned at the Grenville Hotel in Bay Head and worked in the kitchen of the now bygone Doris and Ed’s seafood house in Highlands. Sauer also worked at Rat’s Restaurant at Grounds for Sculpture under executive chef Peter Nowakoski and spent a winter as sous chef at the Alpine House at the Canyons Resort in Park City, Utah.
BRYAN TORTORELLA
Bryan Tortorella is the executive chef at Steel Wheel Tavern, a bar and restaurant that has opened at 51 North Broad Street, Ridgewood (201-882-1800). Chef Tortorella, a native of River Edge, previously worked at Bacari Grill (Washington Township) and restaurants in Rhode Island.
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