Flo Fab reports that Craig Hopson is the man who’ll replace Le Cirque’s departed chef, Christophe Bellanca. This is a big step for Hopson, a 37-year-old who recently made a splash bringing culinary cred to One If by Land, Two If by Sea. Before that, he was a chef de cuisine at Picholine under Terrance Brennan, who of course was once a chef at Le Cirque. So in a weird way, the restaurant is coming full circle. “It’s going to be a huge challenge,” Hopson tells the Times. “The menu needs some kind of game, venison, more wintry stuff but all done with the highest French techniques.” Looks like he’s getting right to work — as they say, out of the kitchen, into the fire. We’ll see whether One If by Land seeks another rising-star chef or whether this burns them on it.

Craig Hopson Takes Over at Le Cirque [Diner’s Journal/NYT]
Earlier: Le Cirque: Nothing to See Here