Chef Ressul Rassallat Soft Opens Tapenade on Dec 12

Chef Ressul Rassallat was kind enough to lend a helping hand with the launch of Duplex several months back, the scene of the crime where owner John Makhani freaked out and infamously broke an Eater contributor's camera. But all along Rassallat was working on his own project, a Mediterranean tapas restaurant called Tapenade, opening on the ground floor of The Olympic Collection complex on Olympic at Sawtelle, the same structure which houses Kiriko and Morinoya.

While Rassallat isn't a hugely known name in LA, the chef has been in and out of California over the years cooking at L'Orangerie, spending time at Four Seasons Hotel George V in Paris, and running Club XIX at The Lodge at Pebble Beach. Now, Rassallat — who also happens to be certified as a Master Sommelier — plans to soft open Tapenade on December 12 with a full launch on December 17. [EaterWire]