April 10--Nearly 10 days after announcing the location for his new dumpling restaurant Packed, Mike Sheerin has been named executive chef of Embeya (564 W. Randolph St., 312-612-5640).
The restaurant's partners and owners Attila Gyulai and Komal Patel made the announcement Friday.
Earlier this week, Embeya's founding chef and partner Thai Dang told Tribune critic Phil Vettel that he was fired. "In three years, I learned to be a great chef," Dang said. "I believed in what I did; I never thought it would come out this way."
Gyulai closed Embeya after dismissing Dang. The restaurant will reopen for dinner service April 15 with Sheerin at the helm, while lunch service is expected to start the following week. In a press release, Sheerin said he will "develop a new and inspired menu featuring various regional Asian flavors and cuisines."
Sheerin previously worked at Blackbird, Trenchermen and (now closed) Cicchetti and before that in New York at WD-50, Lutece and Jean-Georges. Packed is scheduled to open in Hyde Park in late summer.
ctc-dining@tribune.com
