There's not much turnover in the kitchen at Fork, one of the early comers to the Old City restaurant scene (1997) and one of the area's most decorated restaurants.

But with chef Thien Ngo announcing his retirement after seven years -- he's going home to Vietnam -- owners Ellen Yin and Roberto Sella tapped an old-timer to replace him.

Not that Terence Feury is old. He's just seasoned. He most recently was executive chef at Maia in Villanova, after tours with the Ritz-Carltons in Georgetown and Philadelphia, Striped Bass in Philadelphia and Le Bernadin in New York.

Feury will continue the ingredient-driven/local farmer/new American approach. He starts Feb. 1.

For his final weeks in the kitchen at Fork, Ngo will serve his favorite dishes in a series of nightly tasting menus. Ngo provided most of the recipes for Yin's cookbook (Forklore: Recipes and Tales From an American Bistro) and helped set up Fork's adjacent cafe and bakery, Fork: etc.