Brooks Headley: progressive but Italian.
When Nicole Kaplan left her post as Del Posto’s pastry chef, Joe Bastianich told us that her replacement would be somebody good. And apparently that somebody is Brooks Headley, formerly of Compass. It seems on the surface like an odd choice, given the latter’s reputation as an avant-garde dessert man (his signature at Compass was a “deconstructed Key-lime pie”), but Bastianich says, “He’s a brilliant talent. He truly understands the tastes and sensibility of real Italian desserts.” The new dessert menu reads very Italian, admittedly: crespelle di polenta, frozen ricotta, rhubarb-and-rose-hip jam, say, or panna cotta with candied spring fennel. “He really gets it,” Bastianich swoons.
Related: Nicole Kaplan Leaves Del Posto
