Moving on

Brandon Zarb’s day-to-day is about to look a lot different. The former executive chef of Public House and Imperial in Ferndale started his new job at Rising Stars Academy in Centerline in August, leaving behind the kitchens he had spent the last three years in. “I was kind of looking for a change of pace,” Zarb said. “I really love the restaurants, and I’ve really enjoyed working with them, but I knew at some point I was going to want to get involved with something different.” After going on a tour of the academy, Zarb fell in love and wanted to be a part of it. “It’s hard to put into words but if you see it you’ll understand why,” he said. “I’ll put it this way, everyone I’ve ever taken there, or I’ve known that’s gone there, before you leave you’re already asking, ‘Ok, how can I get involved?’” Zarb’s involvement will be in the academy’s restaurant and lunch service, as well as classroom demonstrations ranging from knife to sanitation skills. As far as his association with the forthcoming restaurant Antihero, another restaurant being planned by Working Class Outlaws, the restaurant group behind Public House and Imperial, also on Nine Mile, Zarb said his understanding is that they’ve already begun the hiring process to replace him.

­Metro Intelligencer is a monthly column devoted to news stories, tidbits and gossip items about what's happening on the restaurant scene in the metro Detroit area. Metro Intelligencer is reported/created each month by Dana Casadei who can be reached at DanaCasadei@DowntownPublications.com with news items or tips, on or off the record.