Daniel Wheeler, former executive chef at Fine & Fettle in SouthPark, is the new chef de cuisine at The Stanley. The Elizabeth restaurant is owned by chef Paul Verica, a James Beard semifinalist. Wheeler replaces chef de cuisine Alex Verica, who helped his father open the restaurant three years ago and recently left The Stanley to lead the kitchen at upcoming South End restaurant Para.

Wheeler, who was executive chef at Dot Dot Dot and subscribers may know from a Meet the Chef dinner with Unpretentious Palate, prioritizes local sourcing in his cooking — a prerequisite to cooking at Verica’s restaurant.

“Philosophically, from a food perspective, the whole local thing is very important to both of us,” Verica says. “I think stylistically, when you look at his food, it’s kind of similar to mine in some ways.”

Wheeler’s first day at the restaurant was last week. The chef initially hired to replace Alex Verica only lasted a short time before parting ways with the restaurant; Verica says that decision was due to the fact that the new hire wasn’t a right fit. Wheeler, however, has already proven to work well at The Stanley. Verica and Wheeler have already collaborated on a dish, called “Most of the vegetables in my fridge,”  a stunning presentation of seasonal produce.

“That’s one of the reasons that I like having Daniel here, is his creative energy,” Verica says. “I think, we’ll bounce well off of each other.”

With confidence in the person leading his kitchen, Verica says he hopes to be able to balance time at both The Stanley and his new restaurant, Orto in NoDa.

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