Food Fortunes Taps LaFrieda as Panelist; Sam Sifton Gets Advice Column

TELEVISION — Pat LaFrieda Jr., owner and operator of Pat LaFrieda Meat Purveyors, will join the Food Network show Food Fortunes as a member of the guest panel for the next two shows. LaFrieda's custom meat blends, including his burger for Shake Shack, launched him into unlikely culinary stardom. Food Fortunes features entrepreneurs who pitch food concepts to investors, in the spirit of the ABC show Shark Tank.

ADVICE COLUMNS — New York Times food editor Sam Sifton has undertaken a new project: channeling his inner Ann Landers. The Gray Lady is debuting a monthly Men's Style section, in which Sifton will field food questions that are decidedly male-centric; his target demographic is men, "... people who deal with men, who want men to cook or cook more or cook differently."

CHEF SHUFFLE — Alta CA chef Yoni Levy will no longer be with the Market St. pastrami purveyor after April 17, Eater SF reports. Sous chef David Goody will take the reins, but the direction of the restaurant's cuisine is expected to stay the same. In Napa, chef Levi Mezick, formerly of Monterey's Restaurant 1833, will take charge of Charlie Palmer's 110-seat Harvest Table, which is expected to open mid-May.