Shakeup At Farmers’ Cabinet (Again)

Yesterday, Farmers’ Cabinet co-owner Matt Scheller–not to be confused with Farmers’ Cabinet co-owner Matt Swartz, whose legal problems continue to pile up (more on that later)–sent an email to Foobooz stating that chef Jason Goodman, who got the job in August after Craig LaBan hit the restaurant with one bell, has been “dismissed,” which I am pretty sure is another way of saying he was fired, terminated, shown the door, etc.

But then, someone emailed at 3:24 a.m. today, saying that no, Goodman actually quit due to “abuse by owners”–though from what I gather, it’s Goodman that had a particularly harsh tongue with staffers.

Whether or not Goodman left of his own volition may be up for debate (and the chef hasn’t returned a call seeking comment), but I can tell you where he’s headed next: Buddakan. This morning, Stephen Starr told me that he’s hired Goodman to take over the kitchen at the Old City stalwart. Goodman previously worked for Starr at Parc, and has also seen the inside of the kitchens at Meritage, Paradigm, Philadelphia Fish & Co., Novelty, and Le Bec. Whew!

As for Farmers’ Cabinet, sous chef Steven Forte, who came to the restaurant at the same time as Goodman and who previously worked at Fork, will try to make the city’s best cocktail bar (no matter what Bon Appetit and Esquire say) a great place to eat.