Several Atlanta chefs are being recognized as "rising stars" by an industry magazine.
StarChefs quarterly Rising Stars awards "honor up-and-coming chefs and hospitality professionals who represent the vanguard of the contemporary American dining scene."
The magazine's editorial team met with more than 100 chefs, pastry chefs, bartenders, sommeliers and artisans in Atlanta and Athens to assemble the list of honorees.
The winners will be celebrated next month at an awards ceremony and walk-around tasting open to the public.
The list of winning chefs, along with the dishes they'll prepare at the event, include:
Atlanta Chefs
Spencer Gomez, Holeman & Finch Public House
Featured Dish: Charred Napa cabbage, braised Georgia peanuts, Benton's bacon
Jonathan Kallini, Bacchanalia
Featured Dish: Fruits de mer: monkfish liver torchon, steelhead trout belly tartare, hiramasa crudo
Jason Liang, Brush Sushi Izakaya
Featured Dish: Chasu rice: braised pork belly, rice, egg
Parnass Savang, Talat Market
Featured Dish: Hoi Thawt: crispy mussel pancake, garlic chives, carrots, bean sprouts, sriracha
Joey Ward, Gunshow
Featured Dish: Lone Mountain wagyu tartare, brioche, white truffle emulsion, egg yolk
Brett Ashcraft, Queenie's
Featured Dish: Meatloaf sausage with Coca-Cola glaze
Athens Chef
Richard Neal, Five & Ten
Featured Dish: Cured turnips and radishes, boiled peanut tahini, beef fat dressing, pickled turnip, puffed beef tendon
Community
Celebrates a chef who has established deep roots within his/her local culinary community, and dedicates his/her spare time to charity work and/or community outreach.
Adam Beauchamp, David Stein, Chris Herron, Creature Comforts Brewery
Featured Drink: Tropicalia IPA
Yvonne Zusel
Yvonne Zusel
Pastry Chef
Sarah O'Brien, Little Tart Bakeshop
Featured Dish: Bostock: croissant loaf, pecan frangipane, raspberries
Bartender
David Chapman, Kimball House
Featured Dish: Cherry Martinez: Ford's gin, Schladerer kirschwasser, Maraska maraschino, cherry-infused vermouth
Evan Milliman, Ticonderoga Club
Featured Dish: Belleville Rendevous: amer ticon, applejack, lemon, sorghum, red wine
Artisan
Jared Karr, East Pole Coffee Co.
Featured Coffee: Werka Chelchele Ethiopian coffee
Elaine Read & Matt Weyandt, Xocolatl Small Batch Chocolate
Featured Dish: Assortment of artisan chocolates
Eric Arillo, La Calavera Bakery
Featured Dish: Sourdough bread
Concept
Celebrates a creative, successful, well-executed and chef-driven restaurant concept that has met with success in the local market and could be successfully expanded, either locally or nationally.
Bryan Furman, B's Cracklin' BBQ
Featured Dish: Pulled pork with peach-mustard sauce
Restaurateur
Todd Ginsberg, Jennifer Johnson, Ben Johnson, & Shelley Sweet, The General Muir
Featured Dish: Corned beef, gruyère, sauerkraut, Russian dressing, rye bread
Sommelier
Melissa Davis, Staplehouse
Pairings with winners’ dishes
Since 2002, StarChefs has held awards in 22 different cities and regions across the country, and will celebrate this class of Rising Stars in Atlanta. The most recent Atlanta Rising Stars Awards were
held in 2012.
"The best chefs in Atlanta are grafting their own heritage and style onto Southern ingredients and traditions, using Georgia pecans, sweet peppers, stone-ground grits, and peanuts," StarChefs CEO and editor-in-chief Antoinette Bruno said in a prepared statement.
Editor Caroline Hatchett also recognize the "influence of immigrant cuisines and Buford Highway on some of the city’s top kitchens."
The winners will be celebrated at an awards ceremony and walk-around tasting open to the public at 6:30 p.m. Feb. 20 at SunTrust Park. Tickets are $125 for VIP and $85 for general admission. VIP tickets including a private reception with Nicolas Feuillatte champagne and Sturia caviar. A portion of the proceeds will benefit The Giving Kitchen, a nonprofit dedicated to providing emergency assistance to restaurant workers. Tickets can be purchased here.
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