Blood & Sand hires chef Brian Coltrain, opens to public Monday and Tuesday

Members-only Blood & Sand has a new executive chef. Chef Brian Coltrain quietly assumed leadership of the kitchen in late November, according to general manager Sean Coltrain, who is also Brian’s brother.

Brian Coltrain has spent time in many of the area’s top kitchen, including Element, Niche and Guerrilla Street Food. Most recently he helped open Grace Meat & Three, where he served as front-of-house manager.

“We needed a true leader to be here,” Sean Coltrain said. The restaurant hadn’t had an official executive chef since Josh Charles left the post last spring. “(Brian’s) first real menu was our New Year’s menu. It’s cool to see the new direction he’s going. Now we have a creative force in the kitchen who can pull off what we’ve always wanted to do.”

Brian Coltrain said he’s excited to return to his fine dining roots.

“I’ve always felt I was meant to do fine dining,” he said. “It always felt right. I love the artistic expression. I love being able to use these unique ingredients from all over the world. It just feels like the right time to get back into what I really love.”  

Going forward, Coltrain said he wants to adhere to owner Tim Murphy’s motto: “The food you never knew you loved.”

“I want to introduce people to new ingredients that are prepared in a way that’s approachable and introduces them to another part of the world or another style of cuisine or brings in some history,” he said, adding he also wants to have more vegan and vegetarian dishes.

In addition to his new menu, Blood & Sand will host industry nights on Monday and Tuesday starting mid-January that are open to the public and feature a special menu.

Matt Sorrell is staff writer at Sauce Magazine.