Atlanta is home to many chefs from the acclaimed bravo series Top Chef. We are fortunate to have food from Kevin Gillespie (Gunshow, Revival), Hector Santiago (El Super Pan), Ron Eyester (Rosebud, Food 101), Nimma Osman (Sun in My Belly), and Eli Kirshtein (The Luminary, Revelator Coffee) still, while Richard Blais (Flip Burger, The Spence), Jamie Lynch (5 Church), Tracey Bloom (Table 1280), Wesley True (The Optimist), and Anthony Gray (Southern Art) certainly left their mark. Occasionally alumni from past seasons stop in to cook for engagements like Gunshow’s Hired Guns series. It’s a treat when two are in town to show off their skills. This weekend brings just that.
Reigning winner of Top Chef Season 16, Kelsey Clark, is in town for Ford Fry’s Attack of the Killer Tomato Festival (Sunday, July 14). The day before, she shows off her culinary chops for brunch at Buckhead’s King & Duke. Clark, a native of Dothan, Alabama, graduated from the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park. She cooked at Café Boulud in New York and worked pastry at Divetail. She currently runs restaurant and catering company KBC in Alabama. Presented by Georgia Organics’ Cast Iron and Collards Society, she, along with chefs Damon Wise and Thomas Davis are preparing a five-course brunch focused on Southern, seasonal fare. Much of the produce is sourced from Levity Farms in Alpharetta.
Expect a menu of dishes such as benne seed fried oysters, green eggs and ham, and shakshuka, along with a Bloody Mary bar with Cathead Vodka. After brunch, Clark will speak on her experiences in the kitchen and on the show. Ben Getz of Atlanta FoodCast will emcee the Q & A session. Tickets are $100 ($25 off for Cast Irons and Collards Greens Society members) and available here.
King & Duke. 3060 Peachtree Road NW. Atlanta. 404-477-3500. kinganddukeatl.com.
Adrienne Cheatham was runner up on season 15 of Top Chef. She will be in town Monday, July 15 for a pop-up series at Candler Park’s Lazy Betty. Cheatheam, a Chicago native opened Aldo Sohm Wine Bar and Prive in New York City. She served as Marcus Samuelsson’s corporate chef de cuisine, opening Streetbird and serving as executive chef of Red Rooster. She met Lazy Betty’s chef/owner Ron Hsu while working at le Bernadin and was the first female executive sous chef.
Cheatham, Hsu and chef Aaron Phillips have planned a tasting menu of “elevated comfort food” with their complementary cooking styles. There will be a seven-course tasting in the dining room for $125 and a ten-course tasting at the chef’s counter for $165 with the option of wine pairings. Tickets are available here.
Lazy Betty. 1530 Dekalb Ave. NE. Atlanta. 404-975-3692. lazybettyatl.com.
