After 11 years as the head chef of Ray’s Boathouse, Ballardite Peter Birk has accepted a new challenge – to run the newly renovated Harborside Restaurant and Bistro at 200 Westlake Ave.

Photo of Peter Birk courtesy Moffett Images

Earlier this year the vice president of the culinary department at McCormick & Schmicks made Birk an offer he couldn’t refuse. “I used to work for them in Los Angeles and Kansas City,” Birk said. “They said, ‘we think you’re the right person’ and here we are.”

The Harborside grand-reopening is next Tuesday. Before then Birk will need to finish assembling his team and finalize the menu. “My focus will be sustainability,” he said. “We’ll be focusing on Northwest products and the rest of the country for ideas as well. But I see a very big evolution coming. I had a lot of success at Ray’s and now it’s my chance to raise the bar even higher.”