EaterWire AM Edition: David Malbequi Rumored Out at BLT Market, In at Country

MIDTOWN— We have it on semi-good authority (two solid but off the record sources) that David Malbequi, the chef de cuisine—and the man really running the show—at BLT Market will soon leave his post to join team Country. We hear Malbequi has signed on to work in some capacity at the deathwatched restaurant but is really in it for a gig at Zakarian's yet to be announced upcoming hotel project. That makes sense given the shitshow nature of the restaurant—and the fact that the Country team has recently named former sous-chef Blake Joyal as their official, on the record, choice of exec chef.

Ex-Veritas chef Ed Cotton, one of the city's major free agents right now, is said to be taking Malbequi's place at the BLT empire. Adding fuel to rumor's fire: the PR folks repping BLT Market will neither confirm nor deny, a sign in the world of restaurant spin that they're still preparing the official statements.
· All Coverage of the Troubled and Deathwatched Country [~E~]
· EaterWire: Ed Cotton Out at Veritas [~E~]
—photo credit