Rick Bayless Report: Calm Down, It's Just a Consulting Gig

Rick Bayless

Over the last few months there have been a lot of rumblings about Rick Bayless (Frontera Grill, Topolobampo, Top Chef Masters) coming to Los Angeles. So, from the chef's Twitter account, as Bayless runs his own Twitter feed, we have this:

@Rick_Bayless: The restaurant will be called Red O RT @kimmiberry: @Rick_Bayless Is it the Red Onion that you will be consulting? 6:09 PM Jan 30th from TweetDeck

@Rick_Bayless: I am consulting on a restaurant, but i dont own it RT @Susie_LA @Rick_Bayless Is it true you are opening restaurant in Los Angeles? 5:43 PM Jan 30th from Twittelator

And from the chef's assistant, Jen Fite, we have a further clarification, in a little more than 140 characters. Fite says that Bayless is consulting on Red O and has written the menu for the restaurant, which is slated to open on Melrose near Crescent Heights in March. While Bayless is "not really coming; we don't have anything to do with the concept, we're just doing the food," next week Red O's chef and sous chef are going to Frontera Grill, Bayless' Chicago restaurant, to train there for three weeks.

For everyone who was expecting the famed chef to finally be in L.A., no worries. Bayless will be here for Red O's opening, as well as for "tastings and for checking in." Red O, which will occupy the former Chocolat space, is being designed by Dodd Mitchell. A second Red O is tentatively in the works for the summer. "We're just trying to get the first one open," said Fite when asked about the menu for Red O #2. Just be patient and go watch a Top Chef Masters rerun. Read the man's blog. Pitch a tent on Melrose. Book a flight to Chicago.