Bolsa Has A New Executive Chef

The ship at Bolsa has been decidedly rudderless as of late. Since 2014, the much-beloved farm-to-table restaurant has seen three executive chefs — Jeff Harris, Andrew Bell, and most recently, Joel Harrington — come and go. Now, though, it looks as if Bolsa is headed for sunnier, more stable times.

As The Dallas Morning News’ Leslie Brenner reported this afternoon, longtime Dallas chef Matt Balke has officially taken the reins at Bolsa. Balke, who has most recently served as chef de cuisine at the Plano outpost of Smoke, will replace Chef Joel Harrington, who has left the restaurant.

Fortunately for Balke, he’s got a pretty good backbone of experience in the kitchen at Bolsa. Before taking over the kitchen at The Rustic, Balke worked as executive sous chef at Bolsa during Chef Jeff Harris’ tenure as executive at the eight-year-old restaurant.

Turn The Tables Restaurants spokeswoman Jessica Harp told Brenner that Balke has already debuted new dishes on the menu at Bolsa, including a smoked trout avocado and Diamond H Ranch Quail. Also in the works are an "Eagle Mountain gouda pimiento cheese dish, antelope pate, and Windy Hill goat shepherd pie," all of which indicate that Balke is in for a bright future at his new digs.