It was less than three months ago when we reported the departure of Social’s Jeffrey Boullt and Ashley Guzman from the restaurant. Edwin wrote up earlier this week that Guzman has linked back to Irenia at their newly opened Downtown Santa Ana brick-and-mortar. Now, we have confirmation of Boullt’s whereabouts.
Chef Jeff is back in Playground’s kitchen as sous chef starting next month. In addition, he’ll be bringing his pop-up concept, Mama Roux, to Playground 2.0 on a regular basis. Those dinners will kick off in July. Per Boullt,
In my search for finding my next endeavor, I was longing for loyalty, integrity, focus and my best chance to be successful. I love Santa Ana. That was a huge selling point to me. There was also the thought of “What if I join forces with someone who has always believed in me and my abilities?” I don’t want to start another ‘New American by the numbers’ restaurant. Jason and I have always shared this vision. And together as a team I only see us at the top, with no compromise to our talents or cuisine.
Thanks for the update, chef! And we look forward to those Mama Roux dates.
