After Café Provencal Chef Tim Westby-Gibson announced he would set out to operate his own restaurant, The Williamsburg Winery set about finding a replacement chef.
Later this month, Chef Ika Zaken will take over the kitchen of Café Provencal, which is located inside Wedmore Place at The Williamsburg Winery.
Zaken is Israel-born, Paris-trained and somewhat world-traveled.
The Williamsburg Winery’s Founder and Chairman Patrick Duffeler said Zaken trained at the Ecole Superieure de Cuisine Francaise- Ferrandi in Paris, where he met his wife, Molly.
“Ika has all of the experience, the personal charm, the schooling and the quality, the background which he’s bringing a part of Europe with him, which is in many respects what we’ve tried to do at Wedmore Place,” Duffeler said.
Duffeler explained Molly is American; she and Zaken moved to Israel where Zaken operated a restaurant. Molly and Zaken later decided they wanted to move somewhere more secure for their family; they have three children.
After Israel, the family moved to Belgium so Zaken could work in an Antwerp restaurant called LamaLo. While a partner in LamaLo’s ownership and chef de cuisine, Zaken earned Michelin and Gault & Millau recognition for the restaurant’s menu.
Now, Zaken is working alongside Westby-Gibson at Café Provencal.
“We strive to do better and the best is yet to come. With Ika joining us, I can guarantee you the best is yet to come,” Duffeler said.
Sometime later this month, Café Provencal will launch a new menu. Separately from what’s going on at Café Provencal, Duffeler said he’s working toward establishing an on-site garden for herbs and vegetables to be used in the winery’s restaurants. He’s also working on importing European products for sale at the winery.
Westby-Gibson and current Cafe Provencal Manager Carroll Bull plan to open Prime46forty in Moon Asian Bistro‘s former location in September.
