Chef Craig Hopson to Leave Le Cirque in January

Chris Jaeckle isn't the only high profile chef shuffling out of a restaurant today. Gael Greene breaks the news that Craig Hopson, chef at three star old timer Le Cirque for pretty much exactly three years, is leaving the restaurant in January to open his own restaurant. Hopson says he appreciates the treatment he's received at the restaurant and had a grand old time expanding the brand to a cruise ship and to India but notes that now it's time to move on and "create something of my own." He found a spot for his new restaurant in the Lower East Side and hopes to open it by summer 2012.

As for his replacement, Le Cirque's 79 year-old owner Sirio Maccioni is still in the interview process.
· Chef Craig Hopson Leaves Le Cirque In January To Go On His Own [IC]
· Chef Shuffles: Craig Hopson IN at Le Cirque [~ENY~]
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