David Tallent

Rocket 88 Doughnuts closes, Rooster’s Kitchen opens and David Tallent hosts a Restaurant Tallent Redux.

While staying at the helm of his flagship Restaurant Tallent, which celebrates its ninth year this November, Tallent will also act as the consulting executive chef at the new Topo’s 403, developing the menu for the first year and overseeing the day-to-day chef.

Last Thursday, the idyllic Joseph Decuis Farm in Roanoke played host to a Celebrity Chef Tour benefiting the James Beard Foundation. The tour travels the United States, replicating the once-in-a-lifetime dining experience at the historic James Beard House in Manhattan. The farm’s gorgeous spread, located six miles from the restaurant, offered the kind of perfect backdrop that made you wonder when the Saveur photo shoot would begin. In fact, before guests were seated at a sprawling white-clothed barn table decked out in vases of fresh flowers, visiting James Beard rep Jeff Black, owner of the series, hailed the Indiana venue as the third most beautiful site the series had ever visited, Number One and Number Two being Hawaii and Napa Valley. According to Pete and Alice Eshelman, the owners of Joseph Decuis (that’s pronounced day-QUEEZ, by the way) and gracious hosts for the evening, the 130 guests came from as far as Texas, Boston, and North Carolina to partake in the festivities.

The building has been in the Topolgus family since 1947 and is part of the Indiana Register of Historic Sites and Structures. David Tallent of Bloomington’s Restaurant Tallent will serve as consulting executive chef and will help develop the menu, hire staff, and oversee the food.