BREAKING: Manzke In At Church & State

The Downtown News reported just yesterday that Steven Arroyo wasn't looking to hire a new exec chef for Church & State after chef Greg Bernhardt's abrupt departure, but Arroyo just told us that chef Walter Manzke will take over the French brasserie kitchen starting today. Manzke, of course, was brought in to relaunch Bastide in 2007, got three stars from the LAT and accolades all around, and then left his position (and we know how that panned out). The chef's influence might be seen as early as today, but we suspect any real noticeable menu changes will take hold in a few weeks. This isn't the first time the chef was looking downtown, but perhaps it's more fitting. An actual destination restaurant in the Arts District? Let's hope. UPDATE: Manzke tells Eater 'not so fast.'
· More About Church & State [~ELA~]
· More About Walter Manzke [~ELA~]
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