Metropole Names New Executive Chef, Debuts New Menu

One of downtown Cincinnati’s fine dining establishments is welcoming a new top chef to the kitchen.

Metropole, the contemporary American restaurant inside the 21c Museum Hotel, has hired Corey Cova to be its new executive chef, replacing Kam Losonsky, who is now the executive chef at Maple & Ash in Miami, Florida. Cova brings with him a bold, coast-to-coast culinary vision formed by an unconventional path that will open a new chapter for the restaurant, says Metropole.

Cova is a U.S. Navy veteran who got his start in the culinary world as a submarine-qualified cook aboard the USS Jimmy Carter. Following his time in service, Cova graduated from The Culinary Institute of America in New York City and trained under James Beard Award-winning chefs, making a name for himself in New York’s restaurant scene. He worked in some of the most respected kitchens in the industry, including Earl’s Beer & Cheese, ABV and Dough Loco, where he took an inventive approach to seasonal dining and donuts that made him a standout. He later moved to California and opened his own restaurant, Porkchop Slims.

While Cova gained a lot of culinary experience on the coasts, he’s also spent time cooking in Ohio, working under James Beard Award-winning chef Michael Symon at Lolita in Cleveland. He says there, he learned about tailoring globally inspired cuisine to Midwestern palates and gained a deep respect for the use of regional ingredients. It’s this approach, combined with his experience in New York and California, that Cova will use to transform Metropole’s menu.

A look at the dishes on Chef Cova’s new menu Photo: Provided by 21c Museum Hotels

“My family and I have felt incredibly embraced by the Cincinnati community, and it means a lot to bring my culinary approach to Metropole in such a welcoming city. I’ve really enjoyed connecting with local vendors, and this menu is a tribute to them and the region’s rich traditions. At the same time, it blends flavors and techniques I’ve picked up from coast to coast — offering guests dishes that are both familiar and a little unexpected,” Cova said in a press release.

The new chef’s inaugural menu will be a celebration of summer and a reimagination of seasonal dining with dishes that are both familiar and unexpected, plus a nod to Cincinnati’s culinary heritage, says Metropole. Featured dishes will include house-made pastas and house-cured meats, with ingredients sourced through local businesses like Urban Stead, Blue Oven, Sixteen Bricks and more.

Menu highlights include:

Shrimp Salad: pepperoni, green olive, chilled white shrimp and remoulade on grilled pita
Spicy Tomato Tagliatelle: tomato, Calabrian chili, buckwheat, pecorino cream and house-made duck prosciutto
Fried Miller Amish Chicken: sauce Perigueux, potatoes robuchon and oyster mushroom
Dry Aged Rohan Duck: pearl barley, mango jam and black garlic jus
Crab Tots: potato, cornflake, almond and romesco
Heirloom Tomatoes: locally grown with sherry vinaigrette, hand-pulled mozzarella and market herbs
Grilled Fischer Farms Beef Shoulder: corn pudding, bone marrow gravy and sour onions

And for dessert, there will be a rotating selection of Cova’s fried pâte à choux Crullers, as well as Bacon Panna Cotta (with cinnamon French toast crunch, caramelized Ohio maple and sour cherry) and the Coffee Break Semifreddo, with dulce de leche, whipped milk, raspberry and feuilletine.