Tom Snyder joins Seventh & Dolores as new executive chef.

For most restaurants, losing the kitchen’s top chef sends owners scrambling for a replacement. Here on the Monterey Peninsula, that’s often an especially challenging task. High cost of living and scant housing options limit opportunities to recruit new talent to town, so restaurant owners are faced with a small pool of potential replacements.

The news of chef Jeremiah Tydeman’s upcoming departure from Seventh & Dolores Steakhouse should have unnerved Todd Fisher—Culinary Vice President for the steakhouse and its sister properties Folktale Winery and The Poke Lab. But without skipping a beat, the restaurant has already landed a new executive chef, with Tom Snyder taking over the kitchen last week.

Snyder was perhaps most famous for his tenure at Estéban Restaurant inside the Casa Munras Garden Hotel & Spa. He departed that temple to tapas last summer to helm the kitchen at Cella Restaurant + Bar, part of a pair of projects coming to the Cooper Molera Adobe later this year. But as that project has navigated delays due to difficulties working in historic properties, Snyder felt an itch to return to the kitchen.

“I started to say to myself, ‘I’m not doing anything,’” explains Snyder. “As a chef, I’m always thinking about food, but I had no outlet for everything going on in my head.” So while the restaurant buildout was held up, he helped out—working with local chefs for special events, including some catering out at Folktale Winery.

“Todd and I have been friends for six years. I have a lot of respect for him. I saw the great talent that he had accumulated at 7D and at Folktale. I was really impressed with the staff he had and I could see myself working with this team.”

Without a home kitchen to call his own and the continued delay to debut Cella, Snyder got antsy. “I put my name softly out there and, well, Todd moved quickly,” he says with a laugh.

Last Wednesday Snyder officially started work at Seventh & Dolores.

Despite his departure, Snyder emphasizes his support for his team at Cella, Culinary Director Ben Spungin and Director of Operations PJ Clark, “Ben is super talented, PJ obviously has a great brain for the industry. As a team running a restaurant, I was really excited to work with the two of them. I’m a little disappointed that didn’t work out.”

Spungin understands Snyder’s decision. “We’re very happy for Tom and appreciate his contributions to our team. It was an early hire for us and due to circumstances outside anyone’s control, Cella is set to open later than originally expected,” he says. “I have the utmost respect for chef Todd and his culinary program, and we can’t wait to dine at 7D with Tom at the helm. We know he’ll crush it in Carmel.”

Fisher and the Folktale family are ready to welcome Snyder. “I have so much respect for Tom and the work he did at Estéban and the events he helped us with at Folktale,” says Fisher. “I remember Danny and I thinking it would be badass to have him on our team. We didn’t think there was really an opportunity, but lo and behold, here we sit with one of Monterey’s top chefs as our new executive chef for the restaurant. It’s very exciting.”

General Manager Joe Valencia echoes Fisher’s excitement to have Snyder at Seventh & Dolores, “I can’t be happier right now to be working with this man. I’m super stoked. I think it’s going to be great for this restaurant.” He adds, “We’ve done great, but we can never rest. And I think Tom has the same vision that I have: We can’t rest, we continue to grow.”

Tydeman will remain for another month or so to help bring Snyder onboard before a planned move to Texas. And Fisher is quick to underscore his appreciation for Tydeman, “He’s done a great job getting us to where we are, he’s a very talented chef, and, between him and Joe, they’ve been the backbone of keeping this place together.”

Don’t expect any major changes to the steakhouse’s menu just yet. Snyder cautions it will be at least a month before he’s ready to start debuting dishes. And Fisher reminds that many selections—like the steak tartare, onion soup, wedge salad and the restaurant’s special partnership with Niman Ranch—have become signatures at the steakhouse and will remain.

But do look for some changes that leverage Snyder’s expertise in small bites. “For 2019, we want to make lunch a little more playful, a little more approachable,” Fisher says. “We’re a steakhouse, and when you think steakhouse, you don’t think lunch. We’re looking at changing lunch to have more of a small plates, bar feel.”

No, the menu won’t be shifting to Spanish tapas, but Snyder and Fisher hint at more small bite options for grazing gastronomes at lunch. “Tom having experience with that sort of concept makes it an even smarter decision for us.” And Fisher also teases plans to pilot a wine lounge in the restaurant’s private dining space.