Omnivore - Sotto Sotto sous Adam Waller takes over for Rego at Escorpion

• Joeff Davis
• Chef Adam Waller

Last month, Eater reported that chef Jose Rego had officially left Escorpion in Midtown and was rumored to be replaced by a chef from Sotto Sotto. This week, chef owner Riccardo Ullio confirmed that Sotto’s former chef de cuisine, Adam Waller, will be taking Rego’s place at Escorpion. We caught up with Waller, who was recently featured as one of Atlanta’s sous chefs to watch in this year’s Food Issue, who let us in on the latest developments.

“U Restaurants’ Director of Operations offered me the position a few weeks ago” Waller says. “It took me by surprise, but I accepted right away.” As his first executive chef position, Waller is “thankful that Riccardo has enough trust in me to fix something that isn’t working.”

Waller will have creative control over the menu, but will still work closely in collaboration with Ullio. “I want to keep the things that work, but bring in more traditional elements,” Waller says. He also intends to reach beyond Mexican cuisine by incorporating influences from all over South America. “Playing on different food and cultures is what excites me about this place” Waller says. “I want to bring in more seasonal elements and cuisines from Guatemala, Peru, Argentina and all over Latin America.”

For now Waller intends to keep things simple and geared toward the masses. “I want to make the ceviches more approachable and the cheese dip stays, but eventually I want to feed people tripe and give people food they’ve never had before.”