Chef shuffle at Veritas

This week, Veritas chef Silas Caeton announced he'll be leaving the modern American kitchen in Delaware. In the restaurant's two brief years, it earned a reputation for playful presentation and its use of molecular gastronomy techniques. Last year, we ranked it the No.1 restaurant in Columbus.

It's been a defining two years, Caeton says, adding the time was right for him to move on. As a proper sendoff and celebration of Veritas' anniversary, the restaurant will feature a throwback menu of house favorites of menus past. Potential comebacks could include smoked trout, steak tartare and sausage boards.

Caeton's last night will be Thursday, Aug. 28. After that, chef and owner Josh Dalton, who also owns 1808 American Bistro down the street, will take over the kitchen. "The original idea for Veritas was to be a playground for chefs," Dalton says. "I'm excited about [going back fulltime]. It'll be the first time it'll be solely me in the kitchen." Dalton is referring to the opening trio of chefs-himself, Caeton and Avishar Barua, who left a year ago to work in notable kitchens, like WD-50, in New York City.

Dalton expects to keep the throwback Veritas menu for a week or two after Caeton's departure, and then gradually begin to rollout his own dishes.

As for what's next for Caeton, he hopes to cook again soon, this time closer to Columbus city limits. More news on that coming soon, he promises. But in the meantime, next week he'll be launching a Kickstarter to test the market for a pet project: chef aprons. "It's something I have been working on for 10 months," says Caeton, adding the idea came to him when he couldn't find an affordable apron that fit his tall frame. "So I ended up making my own." Caeton's custom aprons, a line he's calling Kitchen + Threads, are organic cotton with heavy duty organic hemp webbing. "They're good quality and they look cool," he says.