Changes at Vino Rosina

Sajin Renae, formerly Vino Rosina's sous chef, is taking the lead role in the kitchen now that chef Jesse Sandlin has left. Sajin has already instituted some menu changes—like lamb stew and beer-battered rockfish—and has lots of ideas in mind.

“My flair is comfort food, everything that people can relate to,” she said on the phone this morning. “Look for heart healthy, lots of fruits and vegetables, a bit of Mediterranean, and Southern dishes.”

The nod to Southern cuisine stems from her roots in the Florida Keys and Alabama, she said. Sajin has been in a restaurant kitchen since she was 14 and learned her skills “hands on,” she said. “It’s the best way to go."

In Maryland, she has worked in the kitchens of P.F. Chang’s in Baltimore and Annapolis and also at Loews Annapolis Hotel.

Her boss, Jim Lancaster, also the owner of Rosina Gourmet in Canton and downtown, said today, “We’re in for exciting times.”

Jim, who said he and Jesse parted by “mutual beneficial agreement,” stressed that Vino Rosina’s staff is a “team made up of individual members. We’ve got lots of creativity there.”

Photo: Dining room at Vino Rosina