Chefs You Should Know Atlanta

Amy's Baking Company Hires Joe Arpaio's PR Firm To Change Public's Perception

by Tina Nguyen

How good is Rose, Moser & Allyn? They represent the highly controversial Maricopa County Sherrif Joe Arpaio, the law enforcement official so divisive that someone recently tried to blow him up with a package bomb.

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WATCH: The Sussman Brothers Ride Horses And Crash Tea Parties On Truckers In The Wild

by Tina Nguyen

God forbid that Max and Eli Sussman, the pride of Brooklyn, ever betray their hipster roots by doing such WASPy things as equestrian activities and gossiping with ladies over tea.

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WATCH: Why Is Anthony Bourdain At A Fake KFC In Libya?

by Tina Nguyen

"That kid who you see, a militia member, at one point looks in the camera and says, 'This is the taste of freedom.' Which is both dismaying and heartbreaking and beautiful at the same time."

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WATCH: Jay Rayner Takes Down Locavorism In Snarky New Book Trailer

by Mariella Mosthof

British food critic Jay Rayner just released a trailer for his new book A Greedy Man in a Hungry World, which contains a sneak peek of his mind-blowing anti-locavorism argument. Turns out sustainability based on geography is poppycock!

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The Top 10 Chefs You Need To Know In Atlanta

by Mariella Mosthof 1:44 pm, September 27th

New York may be a culinary mecca, but it’s not the be-all and end-all of food talent. And as such, we’ve taken it upon ourselves to highlight celebrity, notable, or otherwise up-and-coming chefs you should know about across the country.

Whether you’re taking a trip to Louisville and looking for a great place to eat (Ed Lee’s restaurant, duh), or are a Charlottesville local who wants to know which chefs you can defend to the self-righteous hometown death (particularly if they secure a spot on Top Chef or Chopped), we’re here to give you the heads up on which chefs you need to know in your city — and why.

This week’s edition? Top 10 Chefs You Should Know: Atlanta.

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1.Hugh Acheson

You know, we thought we'd start small. Hugh Acheson skyrocketed to Bravolebrity-dom after a spot on Top Chef Masters turned into a permanent judging position on the the non-famous-person version of the show. But he's also the winner of a James Beard Award for Best Chef: Southeast, has penned a James Beard Award-winning cookbook entitled A New Turn In the South: Southern Flavors Reinvented For Your Kitchen, and runs no less than three restaurants in Georgia, including Five and Ten and The National in Athens and Empire State South in ATL. He is also in possession of the world's most charming unibrow.

2.Richard Blais

Who's that guy and why does he bear such a strong resemblance to Jen Biesty? Just kidding! Ubiquitous chef fauxhawks aside, everybody knows that is Atlanta's darling (and Padma's own personal underdog hero), Richard Blais. He first appeared on Top Chef in Season 4, and after TOTALLY choking in the finale, returned for Top Chef: All-Stars and snagged the winning title. He also runs newly-opened resto The Spence in Atlanta, along with HD-1 and two Flip locations. For those of you out of range, you can look forward to having Blais return to your screens on a regular basis after next week's season premiere of Life After Top Chef, which will follow Richard, among other Top Chef alums, as he works towards opening The Spence.

3.Kevin Gillespie

Kevin Gillespie was nominated Top Chef fan favorite for Season 6, but he's continues to be remembered fondly among judges (both Gail Simmons and Padma Lakshmi recalled him as one of their all-time faves from the past 10 seasons). He was also a semi-finalist for 2009 James Beard Rising Star Chef of the Year, and named a 2010 Top 5 Rising Chef in the US by the Gayot Guide. You can descend upon Kevin's porkly decadence at Woodfire Grill in Atlanta, and we suggest that you do, just to get a peek at the meat sleeve.

4.Anthony Gray

A not-yet Bravolebrity, Anthony Gray will be hitting up Top Chef for the upcoming Season 10, hopefully doing the aforementioned legacy proud. He's currently the executive chef of Art Smith's Southern Art & Bourbon Bar. BOOM. Pedigree thrown down. Challenge accepted. Are we sensing a pattern, here, that would suggest Atlanta's probably a halfway decent host city option for Top Chef? Just throwing that out there...

5.Kevin Rathbun

Atlanta mainstay and owner of Rathbun's, Kevin Rathbun Steak, Krog Bar, and KR Steakbar, Kevin Rathbun is a chef not to be overlooked on your Atlanta food crawl. He was a 1994 nominee for a James Beard Rising Star Chef Award, and, in 2008, competed on Iron Chef. Sure, he's technically not a hometown boy (Kevin is originally from Kansas City, MO), but the Atlanta restaurant scene has embraced him as a transplant, and you should, too.

6.Asha Gomez

Her (Indian!) restaurant Cardamom Hill was named among Bon Appetit's Top 50 Best New Restaurants of 2012. Apparently, she started cooking to encourage return customers at a spa she ran. Need we say more? Go there. (Photo: Indian Food Rocks)

7.Billy Allin

Billy Allin is the chef behind Cakes and Ale, a local Atlanta favorite that nabbed a spot on Bon Appetit's Top 50 Best New Restaurants in 2009. Allin also received a nod from Food & Wine as a People's Best New Chef: Southeast nominee in 2011. Frankly, he's constantly up for local Atlanta awards, which makes us think this dude's getting it right. Check him out!

8.David Sweeney

The lunch chef at Cakes and Ale's new bakery edition, David Sweeney scored bossman Billy Allin another spot on Bon Appetit's Top 50 Best New Restaurants list this year with the expansion. Bonus: veg-centric. Aww, yeah!

9.Linton Hopkins

Named Best New Chef 2009 by Food & Wine, Linton Hopkins is freakin' constantly nominated for James Beard Awards. Those are our official research stats: Freaking. Constantly. He's been up against Hugh Acheson for Best Chef: Southeast the past five years running, and, in 2012, they finally tied to both take home the award. He runs Restaurant Eugene in Atlanta. Eat there and congratulate him for us.

10.Whitney Otawka

Top Chef Season 9 contender Whitney Otawka is the former sous chef of Hugh Acheson's Five and Ten, former chef de partie of Linton Hopkins' Restaurant Eugene, and she's staged at Le Bernardin and Per Se. Insanity. Our pedigree rankings are off the charts with this girl. She was also named a 2012 Atlanta Rising Star by Star Chefs. You can find her running the show at Farm 255 in Athens.