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SOUTHERN PROPER HOSPITALITY WELCOMES
MATTHEW RIDGWAY AS
EXECUTIVE CHEF OF GYPSY KITCHEN AND
THE SOUTHERN GENTLEMAN
Industry and Atlanta Veteran Makes Triumphant Return
to Helm Dual Kitchens
ATLANTA (June 1, 2015) – After a national
search for the dual role of executive chef for Gypsy Kitchen and The Southern
Gentleman, the team at Southern Proper Hospitality has selected someone who is
familiar with Atlanta and happy to be coming back. Chef Matthew Ridgway, who has worked as chef de partie under chef Joel
Antunes at JOËL and
served as sous chef of Pricci and Veni Vidi Vici, will take over the kitchens
in June.
Ridgway left
Atlanta to help re-open New York’s famous Oak Room as chef de cuisine with Antunes
and went on to create his own establishments in the food world. Most recently owner and chef of acclaimed
restaurant The Pass, Ridgway is also the charcuterie mastermind behind
Porcsalt, a small but thriving venture he created to produce local, artisanal
products from pasture-raised duck and pork. He counts several noteworthy New
York City restaurants among his clients, providing red wine-cured bacon to Café
Boulud and duck prosciutto to Le Bernardin, for example.
“Matthew eats, sleeps and breathes food,” says
Southern Proper Hospitality chief operating officer Guido Piccinni. “With his clean, simple
style of cooking and vast understanding of different techniques and cultures,
he was a natural choice for us. Not only has he been trained by some of the
best in the business, he understands our passion for teamwork and creating
memorable guest experiences that transform first-timers into returning
patrons.”
After training at
Johnson & Wales in Providence, Rhode Island, Ridgway went on to be mentored
by chef Jean-Marie Lacroix at The Fountain Room in Philadelphia's Four Seasons
Hotel. Lacroix then offered him the posts of chef de cuisine and chef de
restaurant at Lacroix at the Rittenhouse in Philadelphia, and later sent
Ridgway to hone his skills at George V, a Michelin three-star restaurant in
Paris, and Le Relais Sainte Victoire in Aix-en Provence, France.
“It’s exciting to come back to this city
that has become such a great destination for food,” Ridgway says. “I love the
people and the ingredients in the South, as well as the longer growing
season. I’m also looking forward to getting
back to a very congenial community of chefs who are so supportive of each
other.”
Ridgway has two
priorities in his new role - putting his touch on the menus and helping his
kitchen team rise to their highest potential. “What’s most gratifying to me is to be able
to give back what I’ve
learned,” he says. “Oftentimes, the culinary world values stardom more than
teamwork, but for me, teaching and raising the level of each member of the
kitchen team is vitally important. Food is food at the end of the day. If you
have a great story and you have heart, it’s hard to go wrong.”
About Southern
Proper Hospitality
Southern Proper Hospitality is an entrepreneurial
organization that values innovation, creativity and attention to detail. The
mission of the team of industry leading professionals is to help shape the
cultural fabric of Atlanta. Southern Proper provides a short term escape for
diners by creating unique and distinct dining experiences that appeal to
customers’ sense
of adventure. Each restaurant offers a high energy, fun and entertaining
atmosphere coupled with genuinely hospitable service and exceptional, high
quality food.
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