After two years of defining high-end French-accented Italian cuisine at Hotel Granduca's sumptuous Ristorante Cavour, Chef David Denis will be parting ways with the restaurant.

But Denis won't be relaxing any time soon. He has been splitting his time between Cavour and his own French restaurant, Le Mistral, which has been steadily growing a following in west Houston—including an expansion in 2008 from 2,700 to more than 9,000 square feet.

“Ristorante Cavour is a wonderful restaurant and I was honored to be a part of its great success. I enjoyed working with the talented team there to create a wonderful Italian menu with a French accent and wish them nothing but the best,” Denis said in a written statement. “However, my first priority is, and always has been, Le Mistral restaurant, which continues to do very well and keeps me very busy. I need to focus my energy on the ever-growing offerings at Le Mistral and to maintaining the level of quality that our customers have grown to love and expect.”

Chef Denis is also working with veteran local food writer John DeMers on his first cookbook, Energy Cuisine, to be published in the fall.

In addition, Foody's Gourmet and Bakery, a French bakery and specialty food store, is in the works from Denis, his brother Sylvain and several other partners. Located across the courtyard from Le Mistral, the concepts will be separate but will share Chef Denis's food philosophy and complement one another.

A replacement for Chef Denis at Ristorante Cavour has not been announced.