After six years as executive chef, Pete List parts ways with Beatrice & Woodsley

After a half-dozen years commanding the line at Beatrice & Woodsley, opening exec chef Pete List, whose impressive resume also includes gigs at the Empire in Louisville and the long-gone Papillon Cafe Cafe, has departed that kitchen, he says, to "spread my wings and explore new opportunities." The decision to leave, which transpired last Thursday, was "absolutely amicable with no animosity," stresses List, who describes his tenure at Beatrice & Woodsley as a "positive experience and a really great fit for the six years I was there."

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"It was a great six-year run, a very amicable parting, and Pete's a class act," echoes co-owner John Skogstad, adding that "We're certainly looking forward to sharing with our guests wherever Pete ends up."

Eric Hiob, who joined the kitchen team at Beatrice & Woodsley last spring as the restaurant's sous chef, has been promoted to exec chef, while Lance Barto, formerly of the Social, is putting in time as the sous while he continues to focus on other projects.

"We're very excited about working with Eric, who's really quite talented," says Skogstad. "He's been a great collaborator, and he fits in really with our program and our holistic approach to the restaurants, plus he and Pete worked really well together, so he's excited to take what he learned from Pete and expand his knowledge," he adds. And he's stoked, too, about Gozo, his new restaurant neighbor to the north. "This is such a great area with so much going on, and Gozo is a great addition to the block. There's a lot going on, and it's going to be a fun summer," predicts Skogstad.

For his part, List says that while he was as "emotionally and physically invested in Beatrice & Woodsley as anyone," he's focusing on what's next, namely, he says, "creating some new and interesting food, taking a few weekends off, spending some time with my dog and grilling fish at home."

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