Richard Blais Is No Longer With The Spence; Wesley True Is IN as Executive Chef

After significantly reducing his presence at The Spence since moving to San Diego a couple of years ago, Top Chef lifer and Atlanta ex-pat Richard Blais is officially out as executive chef at the restaurant. Concentrics Restaurants has hired chef Wesley True to take Blais's place.

"We couldn't be more excited to have Chef True at The Spence," Concentrics founder Bob Amick said in a prepared statement. "His talent, his accolades and his ease with running a restaurant is going to prove to be the perfect match. We are all very excited to enjoy his work. We have enjoyed our long term relationship with Chef Blais and look forward to working with him in the future."

True previously ran the kitchen at True Restaurant in Montgomery, Ala., and he is a two-time semifinalist for the James Beard Award for Best Chef: South. His experience also includes time at John Currence's City Grocery in Oxford, Miss., and he graduated from the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, N.Y.

"I am very excited to hit the ground running in Atlanta," True said. "The Spence's creative spirit is something I can relate to and I look forward to continuing the tradition of unique ingredient driven cuisine."

Blais currently runs the kitchen at his new San Diego restaurant, Juniper & Ivy, and he will continue to work with Concentrics on future projects.