East Meadow: New chef at Jake's
Chef Rick Laakkonen of Jake's Steakhouse, East Meadow. (July 2011) Credit: Handout
Chris Hamaty, executive chef at Blackstone restaurant in Melville for the past four years, now heads the kitchen at the new Jake's Steakhouse.
Hamaty succeeds Rick Laakkonen, who originally was to be consulting chef but took over the exec chef job for the restaurant's opening weeks. Laakkonen stays on as consulting chef. Laakkonen has cooked at The River Cafe in Brooklyn and the departed Ilo near Bryant Park in Mahattan.
Hamaty's resume includes B.K. Sweeney's Uptown Cafe in Garden City, B.K. Sweeney's Parkside Tavern in Bethpage and Landmark Grill in Lindenhurst and Levittown.
The original Jake's is in the Bronx.
Jake's Steakhouse is at 2172 Hempstead Tpke., East Meadow; 516-222-8400.
Rick Laakkonen: consulting chef once more.
