Following a sudden chef shake-up at Sevy’s, Jim “Sevy” Severson is leading the kitchen again – and loving it

“I feel energized, like I get to play again,” says notable Dallas chef Jim “Sevy” Severson, the founder and top chef at his namesake Sevy’s restaurant in Preston Hollow.

The energy vortex must be strong at Sevy’s, given that a quicker-than-expected change in the kitchen last weekend saw Severson taking over the reigns from Eric Friedline, who resigned to pursue other interests following four years with Sevy (and Sevy’s).

“I asked my crew – many have been here since we opened 23 years – if we needed to recruit another chef to help lead the kitchen, and they all said, ‘we got this, chef,” Severson told me. “So together we’re just going to keep taking care of our loyal customers the way we have for 23 years.”

Severson said he’d stepped back to allow Friedline to lead, but now he’s excited to be back in front.

“I learned some interesting culinary ideas from Eric, and I hope he learned some things from me.” Sevy told me. “I’ve always been active in the kitchen, but now I’m recommitting myself to running this restaurant and leading our team. We’ll continue to do some innovative cooking at our wine dinners, but you probably won’t see me with foam guns or doing anything crazy.”

Friedline said family issues required him to take a step back from the long work hours for now; Friedline and Severson both said the split was amicable.

“I love Chef Sevy and my entire Sevy’s Grill team,” Friedline told me.”The last 4 years have been the absolute best of my career.” He’ll be hosting some pop-up dinners while he plans his next move.

“Our business is already going gangbusters, so we know we’re doing a lot of things right,” Sevy said. “Our front-of-the-house is rock solid and our kitchen crew is, too. I’m thankful I’m still here (and not ill). I’m thankful for our guests and for our team. We’ll continue to take care of our guests, and we’ll be just fine.”