Chef Demos

Every week at Grant Park Farmer’s Market, talented chefs from the Atlanta are join us to share some recipes and cooking tips, using fresh ingredients from the market. Check out the 2012 line up:

Todd Richards, Cafe at the Ritz Carlton Buckhead

Chef Demo: 4/29/12

Chef Richards appeared on NBC’s Today Show in September 2011, cooking his signature Chicken and Waffles with Al Roker, and was named one of “Four New Chefs to Watch in 2012” by Esquire Magazine last year.  Using ingredients selected from the Grant Park Farmers Market, Chef Richards will show market patrons how to whip up an easy, local meal that the whole family will love.

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Asata Reid

Chef Demo – 5/6/12

Chef/Journalist Asata Reid has practiced her culinary artistry at some notable Atlanta restaurants and has worked as a private chef, specializing in healthful creations and specific dietary needs and wants.  To help fill the gap between what you should be eating and the dilemma of how to eat healthfully, Chef Asata started the culinary education programs of Life Chef.

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Julia LeRoy

Chef Demo – 5/13/12

Julia LeRoy is an Atlanta-based Francophile with a taste for local ingredients, seasonal flavors, whole-food nourishment, and the healing power of food. With a background of training in the Culinary Institute of America and at Seeger’s and The Dining Room, Julia has the skills and know-how to execute in any situation. With an upbringing which fostered the importance of traditional nutrition and healing practices, she has an enormous respect for balance and attention to detail. She has recently joined the team at Watershed on Peachtree, opening in late May of this year.

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Natalie Keng, Chinese Southern Belle

Chef Demo – 5/20/12

Keng, a food and culture expert from our very own Atlanta.  Through Chinese Southern Belle, she delivers the “best of the East and West” in food and cultural entertainment with “Buddha-to-Bubba” stories, healthy eating and eco-friendly tips.  She is commonly joined by her mother, Margaret Keng.

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Linton Hopkins, Restaurant Eugene/Holeman & Finch

Chef Demo – 5/27/12

Chef Hopkins is a widely celebrated chef with deep Atlanta roots. After graduating from Emory, Chef Linton traveled to get his education.  In 2004, he moved back to his hometown of Atlanta with his wife, Gina, to open Restaurant Eugene. Restaurant Eugene quickly caught the attention of the media and food lovers throughout the country. The following year, Chef Hopkins beat out other accomplished Atlanta chefs to gain a spot in The Food Network’s “Iron Chef” competition. Building on the success of Restaurant Eugene, Chef Hopkins opened Holeman & Finch Public House and H&F Bread Company in 2008. He was later crowned one of Food and Wine Magazine’s Best New Chefs in 2009. After multiple James Beard Award nominations for Best Chef – Southeast, Chef Hopkins took home the prize this year!

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Carvel Grant Gould, Canoe

Chef Demo – 6/3/12

Carvel Grant Gould earned her place among Atlanta’s top chefs the hard way, as a line cook. After training under Canoe’s original executive chef, Gary Mennie, Gould was appointed executive chef of Canoe in 2005. It is evident in Gould’s cooking that she has an innate culinary sense with a remarkable eye and distinguishing palate. She has a particular appreciation for vegetables and seafood. Her craftsmanship emanates in simple dishes with artfully balanced flavors. She often uses the term “palatability” in her kitchen to describe a perfect blend of flavors on a plate.

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Hugh Acheson, Five & Ten/The National

Chef Demo – 6/10/12

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Jordan Wakefield, Meehan’s Public House

Chef Demo – 6/17/12

Cooking has been in chef Jordan Wakefield’s blood from the day he was born. Growing up in Lawrenceville, Ga., Jordan was immersed in a world of diverse culinary cultures. His mid-Western mother taught him how to prepare good hearty meals, and his Tennessee-born father provided Jordan with his love for Southern culinary traditions. In addition, Jordan’s grandparents owned one of Iowa’s most successful bakeries. As a result, Jordan learned the tools of becoming a great pastry chef, as well as learning how to prepare incredible, traditional Italian dishes from his Italian Grandmother. This foundation provided him with a strong love for all things culinary. Jordan has worked in the kitchens of the exclusive Homestead Resort in Hot Springs Va., the acclaimed Spice Market, under the tutelage of internationally heralded chefs, Jean-Georges Vongerichten and Ian Winslade, Atlanta’s Food 101 and Meehan’s Public House.

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Eric Wolitzky, Cakes and Ale

Chef Demo – 6/24/12

Eric was born into a family of bakers and began working in bakeries while in his teens. He obtained a BFA in drama and MA in performance and cultural studies from NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts, but his heart was continually drawn back into the kitchen. He currently serves as Pastry Chef at Cakes & Ale. Eric’s recipes have been featured in magazines including Food & Wine and O, among others. He was also nominated twice for Best Bakery Dessert by PastryScoop.com and was featured as a contestant on Bravo’s Top Chef: Just Desserts. Eric is enamored by simple baked goods that are full of flavor and is a sucker for a beautiful bundt cake.

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Terry Koval, Farm Burger

Chef Demo – 7/1/12

Terry Koval began his restaurant career at the age of 15, working as a dishwasher in Greenville, South Carolina. Rather than head to culinary school after those classically sudsy beginnings, Koval looked west to San Francisco, in hopes of becoming a skateboarder. And it was on the west coast that he had his first introduction to local, seasonal produce and farm-to-table cuisine. Koval came back to the South, refreshed and inspired by the west coast’s culinary prosperity. He worked his way up the Georgia culinary food chain to the position of executive sous chef at Canoe, sous chef of Lobby at TWELVE and, later, executive chef of Room at TWELVE. Koval eventually returned to his roots in sustainable cuisine with his expertly crafted, seasonal grass-fed burgers at Farm Burger. Koval understands the importance of refined, fresh flavors, no matter what the vessel.

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Joe Truex, Watershed

Chef Demo – 7/8/12

Chef Joe Truex, a native Southerner, has introduced his unique style of Southern cuisine toWatershed’s menu since he became Executive Chef and Partner in 2010. His classic approach to cooking transforms traditional Southern dishes into something distinctive and exciting. His cooking refreshes our ideas about how creative and delicious Southern food can be. Chef Truex has a keen understanding of the connection between food and wine and brings his passion for wine to the Southern table.

Chef Joe Truex currently lives in Decatur, Georgia. He grew up in the small town of Mansura, Louisiana, attended Louisiana State University, and began his culinary training in New Orleans at Fairmont Hotel in 1986. A graduate of The Culinary Institute of America in New York (class of ’89), he worked at the original Le Cirque under Chef Daniel Boulud, and continued his training overseas in Basel, Switzerland and back in the states in Las Vegas and New York City. Chef Joe Truex was most recently Chef at the prominent Atlanta restaurant Repast. Chef Truex says “after exploring many different influences on food, cooking at Watershed feels like coming home.”

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Shaun Doty

Chef Demo – 7/15/12

Atlanta Chef and Restaurateur Shaun Doty has made significant contributions to the Atlanta food scene since his arrival in 1991. A graduate of Johnson and Wales, Doty spent his formative years working in Charleston, Dallas, and New York, and also staged at several Michelin-starred restaurants in Europe including Comme Chez Soi and Restaurant Troisgros. Upon his arrival in Atlanta, Doty worked with renowned Chef Guenter Seeger at the Ritz-Carlton in Buckhead and Mumbo Jumbo before opening his own restaurants –MidCity Cuisine in 2005, and then Shaun’s in 2006. At Shaun’s, Doty spent four years creating ingredient-driven, seasonal and creative American cuisine that earned him a great deal of praise until he closed the restaurant in 2010 to focus on other endeavors.

Currently, Doty will be opening Bantam & Biddy, a fast casual chicken restaurant featuring local free-range and pastured chicken, in October. Doty is a member of the Southern Foodways Alliance and Georgians for Pastured Poultry, and is actively involved in fundraising for causes relating to Autism and Pervasive Developmental Disorder.

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Nick Melvin

Chef Demo – 7/22/12

Nick Melvin is an Atlanta chef, but a native of New Orleans.  His style of food is a creative take on simple food.  Nick is currently working on opening his own restaurant, Garden District. To put it simply, Garden District will be a neighborhood-gathering place that is distinguished by the local community that surrounds it.  The mission is to provide the neighborhood with an open and welcoming gathering place for good food, good drink and good company that felt like it had always been there. Nick has served as the chef at many of the Atlanta area’s best restaurants including The Farmhouse at Serenbe, Parish, Empire State South and Rosebud.

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Bob McDonough

With a young, fresh perspective, Bob McDonough showcases creativity and modernism as executive chef of Little Alley Steak and INC. Street Food. Fixated on the controlled chaos of the kitchen from a young age, McDonough demonstrates a consistent ability to think outside of the box and craft dishes featuring classic flavors with an exotic flair. McDonough conveys an innovative twist on his traditional cooking styles. He fuses a bold creativity with his knowledge of conventional French technique to produce genuine, classic dishes specially catered to each restaurant.  Initially inspired by his father’s catering business, McDonough’s passion lies in cooking to satisfy others. Garnering more than ten years as a professional chef, he has been appeared on the Travel Channel’s Two Day Destination, FOX 5’sGood Day Atlanta and CBS Better Mornings Atlanta. He has participated in a James Beard Dinner in Henderson Village in Perry, Ga., Whole Foods Market’s Salud! Cooking School demonstration and EcoManor’s Open House cooking exhibition at Laura Turner Seydell’s LEED certified residence.

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Zeb Stevenson, Livingston

Chef Demo – 8/5/12

Chef Zeb Stevenson brings an innovative approach to the contemporary American cuisine at Livingston Restaurant + Bar. Growing up in Indiana, Stevenson developed a love for the art of simple food. The Midwestern food culture that includes gardening, canning and hunting formed the basis of his culinary background and continues to influence his menus today. He relocated to Atlanta where he has flourished in positions at Dick & Harry’s, Concentrics Restaurants, Spice Market and now Livingston Restaurant + Bar. He collaborated with Chef Gary Mennie to create innovative menus and develop the progressive American cuisine that Livingston Restaurant + Bar is known for. Now as the executive chef, he continues to build on the straightforward, yet refined American classics while keeping modern, fresh sensibilities in mind. Adding a twist of international ingredients creates an unparalleled flavor and invokes unique experiences from Livingston Restaurant + Bar diners night after night.

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Jessica Harlan and Kelley Sparwasser, Grant Park Native/Co-Authored Quinoa Cuisine

Chef Demo – 8/12/12

Jessica Harlan and Kelley Sparwasser are co-authors of Quinoa Cuisine: 150 Creative Recipes for Super Nutritious, Amazingly Delicious Dishes. Jessica Harlan has written about food and cooking for nearly twenty years for publications such as About.com, Clean Eating, Town & Country, Mobil Travel, Gaiam.com and Arthritis Today. She is the author of the book, Ramen to the Rescue and lives in Atlanta, Georgia. Kelley Sparwasser began a career devoted to food and wine in Portland, Oregon, where she completed cooking schools and worked in area kitchens. Since then she has been on the editorial staffs of McCall’s and Food Arts. She opened a restaurant consultancy before returning to Oregon to pursue her passion for pinot noir as Direct Sales Manager at Penner-Ash Wine Cellars.

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Jason Paolini, Restaurant Eugene/Holeman & Finch

Chef Demo – 8/19/12

Jason Paolini’s respect and appreciation for the art and craft of American cuisine developed early in life. Growing up hunting and fishing in Belle Chasse, Louisiana, Paolini quickly learned the importance of fresh, quality ingredients. He became inspired to prepare these ingredients while working for New Orleans’ famed Brennan family at the Palace Café. After graduating from the Culinary Institute of America in Baton Rouge, Paolini moved to Atlanta to work with Chef Gary Minnie at Canoe.

He then opened Taurus with Minnie, where he worked for three years. Before joining the celebrated Five Forks & Flasks Restaurant Group as sous chef for Holeman & Finch Public House in June of 2009, Paolini was the opening sous chef at Craft Bar. Today, Paolini serves as the executive sous chef of both Restaurant Eugene and Holeman & Finch Public House. In this role, he works directly with Chef Linton Hopkins to oversee the daily operation of both restaurants. When Paolini is not cooking or managing restaurants, he can be found hitting the links or spending time with his lovely leading lady.

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Nick Rutherford, Porter Beer Bar

Chef Demo – 8/26/12

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Stella Dillard, One Eared Stag

Chef Demo – 9/2/12

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Virginia Willis

Chef Demo -9/16/12

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Bruce Logue

Chef Demo – 9/23/12

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Todd Ginsberg, Bocado

Chef Demo – 9/30/12

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Jennifer Booker, Your Resident Gourmet

Chef Demo – 10/7/12

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Asha Gomez, Cardamom Hill

Chef Demo – 10/14/12

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Asha Gomez, Cardamom Hill

Chef Demo – 10/14/12

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Sheri Castle

Chef Demo – 11/4/12

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Drew Belline, No. 246

Chef Demo – 11/18/12

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Jeb Aldrich, 4th & Swift

Chef Demo – 11/25/12

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Kevin Gillespie, Woodfire Grill

Chef Demo – 12/2/12