Photos: Atlanta chefs show how it started, how it's going

Restaurant News

Photos: Atlanta chefs show how it started, how it's going

Metro Atlanta chefs share photos of themselves when they first started out, and give themselves advice now that they have years of experience under their belts.

Chef Pano Karatassos has served as executive chef at his Buckhead restaurant Kyma since it opened in 2001, though he's been working in the kitchens of his father's Buckhead Life Restaurant Group eateries since he was a teenager. He also spent time in acclaimed restaurants in California and New York including French Laundry, Jean-Georges and Le Bernardin.

Advice he'd give his younger self: From my first professional kitchen and on through my training, I always cooked in the best of the best fine dining restaurants with intense kitchens, demanding chefs and incredible pressure. By the time I arrived in NYC at age 24, I created an acronym for myself that carried me through three 3-star Michelin Restaurants. Had I had this acronym from day one of cooking at Pano’s and Paul’s at age 15, it would have been extremely helpful:

FSED:
Focus
Speed
Execute
Deliver

Focus - always focus on the task at hand and block out everything else (burning, cutting, yelling, screaming)
Speed - as we say in the kitchen - “move your ass” and at the same time, with the highest finesse and grace while working with your team
Execute - start, materialize and finalize every task given to you to the “t” and always give your chef what he/she wants
Deliver - deliver each task with humble confidence knowing you have nailed every recipe, every plate and have met or exceeded your chef’s expectations."

DeeDee Niyomkul, who oversees the Tamarind Restaurant Group that includes Atlanta restaurants Nan Thai Fine Dining, Tuk Tuk Thai Food Loft and Chai Yo Modern Thai, grew up working in the kitchens at Nan and the now-shuttered Tamarind, both opened by her parents, Charlie and Nan Niyomkul. She started as the executive chef at Nan in 2006 before opening Tuk Tuk and Chai Yo.

Advice she'd give her younger self: Listen more to other opinions and be open to new ideas. Be patient; working with your family and friends provides some challenges but offers limitless rewards. Have fun, enjoy the moments, and enjoy the ride.

Chef Matthew Basford started working in restaurants as a teenager in his native Australia and worked at eateries in New Orleans before moving to Atlanta. He started working at Atlanta restaurant Canoe in 2002, eventually becoming executive chef in 2013.

A piece of advice he'd give his younger self: Be sure to write every recipe down, you will forget.

Advice he'd give his younger self: I always had a level head about me those days but I wish I’d started sooner. The culinary world is ever-evolving! My advice to young chefs everywhere is to soak up all the knowledge you can. Pay attention to each detail to build not only the dishes in front of you but the life ahead of you. Although awards give you assurance that you’re on the right path, you must listen to the food critics - including your guests - as they tell the true story and pay the bills!

Todd Richards, pictured with journalist Al Roker, has worked in the food and beverage industry for more than 20 years at hotels and restaurants including the Four Seasons, Ritz-Carlton, The Oakroom at the Seelbach Hotel in Louisville, Ky. and White Oak Kitchen and Cocktails. He has also partnered and consulted on airport concepts One Flew South and Chicken + Beer, as well as The Pig and The Pearl at Atlantic Station and, most recently, City Pharmacy in Covington, Ga. Under the umbrella of his Soulful Company restaurant group, he owns Soul: Food and Culture at Krog Street Market and Lake and Oak BBQ in East Lake, with plans to open seafood concept Kuro on the Eastside Beltline.

Craig Richards, who trained for five years with renowned Italian chef Lidia Bastianich (pictured) before coming to Atlanta in 2005, started his career in 1998 at restaurants in Lawrence, Kansas and helped open Lidia's restaurant in Pittsburgh in 2001. In Atlanta, he worked at La Tavola, Ecco and St. Cecilia and served as vice president of culinary for Ford Fry Restaurants before opening Lyla Lila with restaurateur Billy Streck in late 2019.

Advice he'd give his younger self: "I would tell my younger chef self to not be so afraid to take some chances, be more ambitious creatively. I would say push yourself to think outside the box and also prepare and plan better. Don’t let small problems sneak up on you. Prepare better so that day to day kitchen stress is less and you have more time to look forward and plan for your kitchen and your team."

Chef Deborah VanTrece has been in the culinary industry for more than 20 years after previously working as a flight attendant. She owned restaurant and catering business Edible Art before closing it to focus on Twisted Soul Cookhouse and Pours in 2014. She released her first cookbook, "The Twisted Soul Cookbook," in 2020.

Advice she'd give her younger self: Throughout my career there have been people who have told me I would fail. Those people and their negativity caused me to doubt my younger self. As I matured, I began to understand my strength and talent. I kept moving forward in spite of the naysayers.

Chef Kevin Gillespie worked in Atlanta at Atlanta Grill, Two Urban Licks and Woodfire Grill and at a restaurant in Oregon before opening his first restaurant, Gunshow, in 2013. Under his Red Beard Restaurants, he also owns restaurants Revival, Ole Reliable and Cold Beer. Gillespie is also well-known for his stint on several iterations of the Bravo show "Top Chef", as well as his cookbooks "Fire In My Belly" and "Pure Pork Awesomeness."

Advice he'd give to his younger self: My advice to my younger self is don’t be in such a hurry to be the boss. It’s easy to undervalue learning and improving, just wanting to get in a leadership role fast. But in the long run it doesn’t help you. Once you are the teacher, the learning process really slows. Take the time to really absorb and learn as much as you can. It will make you a better chef and a better person.

The cover of Gillespie's first cookbook he wrote as a child.

Chef Keith Kash, a United States Navy veteran, is the owner of Henlil Food Service Group, Inc., which includes Who's Got Soul Southern Café, Who's Got Soul Mobile Gourmet, and Who's Got Soul Southern Grill. He's been in the culinary industry for more than 20 years.

Advice he'd give his younger self: I’d tell my younger self to NEVER slow down your vision or growth for others or your team. Inspire and Elevate. Those that are meant to elevate with you WILL.

Chefs Gianni Betti and Linda Harrell met in 1993 while working together at a Tuscan restaurant in Baltimore and opened Cibo e Beve in 2018. Harrell, who has worked in the culinary industry for more than 30 years, is a protégé of Alain Ducasse, at Kingsmill Resorts in Williamsburg, Virginia.
Betti, has owned and worked at restaurants in his native Italy and in North Carolina and eventually joining his brothers in Atlanta as an executive chef and general manager for Antica Posta in Buckhead before opening Cibo e Beve with Harrell.

Advice Harrell would give her younger self: I think it’s important to focus on the value of the education you get from various restaurants instead of focusing solely on the paycheck. It’s also very important to try new environments and keep your mind open to experience.

Advice Betti would give his younger self: Have as many experiences as you can. Challenge yourself. Once you've learned everything you need to learn from a restaurant,
change and go learn something new, somewhere else. Work in the restaurant business but also try to gain experience in a hotel restaurant business. Experiment as much as you can. Learn about the management and human resource sides as well. Do what you are passionate about. One day you will know when it is time to stop and focus on building you own legacy.

Chef Eddie Hernandez, a native of Mexico, spent several years playing drums in a rock band before entering the hospitality industry. Taqueria del Sol, the Mexican restaurant Hernandez founded in 2000 with Mike Klank, has since expanded to include five locations. Hernandez released his cookbook, "Turnip Greens and Tortillas," in 2018.

Advice he'd give his younger self: Early in my cooking career, I thought that success was supposed to come quickly or overnight and it's really not about that. Being a chef is a life-long journey and you're constantly evolving and growing along the way. I would tell myself to be more understanding and patient with the process.

Chef Kameel Srouji (pictured with his wife in the early 1990s) has owned and operated several Mediterranean restaurants since arriving in Atlanta in 1981. He opened Aviva by Kameel in the Peachtree Center food court in 2012, with a second location opening in 2020 in the Coda development in Midtown.

Advice he'd give his younger self (pictured here with his son, Nas): I wouldn’t give my younger self any advice because all of the experiences I've had, good and bad, shaped me into the chef and restauranteur I am today. Being a foreigner coming into a new country, and not knowing anybody, I had to work so hard and learn on the go. I wouldn’t change a thing.

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Chef Pano Karatassos has served as executive chef at his Buckhead restaurant Kyma since it opened in 2001, though he's been working in the kitchens of his father's Buckhead Life Restaurant Group eateries since he was a teenager. He also spent time in acclaimed restaurants in California and New York including French Laundry, Jean-Georges and Le Bernardin.

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