For more
information:
Emily Connolly or
Morgan Dyches
Melissa Libby
& Associates
404-816-3068
ORIGINAL
GUNSHOW TEAM MEMBER IS RESTAURANT’S "NEW" HEAD HONCHO
Geoff
Morrill Promoted to New Leadership Role at Kevin Gillespie’s Glenwood Park
Restaurant
ATLANTA
(June 22, 2015) – Atlanta-based chef, restaurateur and cookbook author Kevin
Gillespie has promoted a key employee at his acclaimed Glenwood Park restaurant,
Gunshow. A member of the Gunshow family since opening
day, former beverage and front of house manager Geoff Morrill will now serve as
the restaurant’s general manager
“Geoff is a vital member of the
Gunshow family,” says Gillespie. “His ability to juggle so many
responsibilities while keeping the restaurant running smoothly each night is
indispensable.”
General manager Geoff Morrill has been
acclimating guests to Gunshow's unique dining experience (the chefs present their dishes
tableside to diners who can then choose what to order) since it first opened in May 2013. He began
as a server and worked his way up to front of house and beverage manager in
October 2014 before becoming general manager.
In his new role, Morrill will continue
to coordinate the service staff, oversee the books, handle ordering and create
fluid, food-friendly wine and beer lists to match the ever-changing dinner menu.
Each night, his goal is to marry the fine dining precision of the kitchen with
the restaurant’s casual atmosphere.
Morrill’s promotion comes on the heels
of several moves that started with fellow opening day Gunshow family member,
Joey Ward, and “kitchen dude” Rémi Granger. Ward was promoted from chef de
cuisine to executive chef in late-2014, while Granger advanced to sous chef in
early-2015.
“I truly could not carry out my vision
for Gunshow without Joey’s artistic talents and eye for presentation and Rémi’s
classical culinary technique and passion for comfort food,” says Gillespie.
As a graduate of the Culinary
Institute of America in Hyde Park, New York, executive chef Joey Ward began his
career as the sous chef of the St. Regis Atlanta and eventually left to work as
a sous chef for Gillespie at Woodfire Grill. Ward moved on to become the
executive chef at H. Harper Station, but his passion for creativity in the
kitchen stuck with Gillespie, who called on him to help Gunshow come to life.
Ward’s early culinary influences (his grandfather cooked for the United States
Navy) helped him realize he could turn his artistic talents into cuisine.
“For me, cooking is a form of art. You must strive to appeal to all of the senses
simultaneously, and if possible, evoke emotion,” says Ward. “Serving as Gunshow’s executive chef enables
me to bring a fresh approach to our seasonal ingredients and gives me even more
opportunities to come up with innovative menu ideas."
Ward has brought a great deal of
creativity and resourcefulness to the restaurant’s cuisine. In the past year, he
has been named Jezebel’s Best
Rising-Star Chef, an Eater Young Guns
semifinalist and one of Zagat’s 30
Under 30 people redefining the hospitality industry.
Working by Ward’s side is sous chef
Rémi Granger, who grew up in Loire Valley, France, and was inspired by his
grandparents at a very young age to become a chef. They raised animals, grew
produce and made their own wine, which gave Granger a deep appreciation for
working with the freshest possible ingredients and a passion for French comfort
food. After Granger turned this inspiration into formal training at Lycée
Hôtelier et de Tourisme de Blois, he worked at luxury Five Star hotels in
France, Florida, and Georgia. He came to Atlanta with the hopes of working
under Gillespie and has been infusing Gunshow’s kitchen with classical French
cuisine since April 2014. Although Granger credits Gillespie and Ward with
helping him to think outside the box when it comes to Southern food, the
popularity of his courses, such as his “foie gras torchon” and “steak frites by
the French guy,” has proven his knack for satisfying diners.
Gunshow is located at 924 Garrett Street. The
restaurant is open for dinner Tuesday through Saturday from 6 to 9 p.m. Guests
may park in the Glenwood Park parking lot and on the street. For more
information, visit gunshowatl.com or call 404-380-1886.
About Chef Kevin Gillespie
Chef Kevin Gillespie's true passion
lies in incorporating fresh, organic and sustainable ingredients in all of his
dishes. After graduating with honors from the Art Institute of Atlanta, the
Georgia native worked in top restaurants in Atlanta and Oregon before opening
his first restaurant, Gunshow, in May 2013. In summer
2015, Gillespie plans to open his second restaurant, Revival, in Decatur,
Georgia, which promises a fresh take on the traditional, family-style
Sunday dinner, with a focus on farm-raised and artisan-prepared ingredients. Gillespie
was one of the three finalists on the sixth season of Bravo’s “Top Chef” and was voted “fan favorite.”
He was named a 2015 semi-finalist for the James Beard Foundation’s Best Chef:
South award and had been a semi-finalist for the Rising Star Chef of the Year
award for three consecutive years, nominated for Food & Wine’s People’s Best New Chef and named Forbes’ 30 Under 30 for his outstanding
accomplishments in the restaurant industry. As a rising young culinary star who
was bringing more than just good food to the table, Gillespie was named one of
Mother Nature Network’s top “40 Chefs Under 40” in November 2009 for linking
farms to forks and promoting better health for people and the planet. In
February 2010, he was honored as one of Gayot.com’s “Top Five Rising Chefs.” In 2014, Gunshow earned the seventh spot on GQ magazine’s list of “12 Most
Outstanding Restaurants” and was honored as one of 12 restaurants on Esquire magazine’s “Best New Restaurants
of 2014” list. Gillespie released Pure
Pork Awesomeness: Totally Cookable Recipes from Around the World in March
2015, a follow-up cookbook to Fire in My
Belly, which was selected as a James Beard Award Finalist. Gillespie is a
member of Slow Food Atlanta, Southern Foodways Alliance, Chefs Collaborative,
Community Farmers Markets Chefs Advisory Board, Georgia Organics and the
Society for the Preservation of Traditional Southern Barbecue. For more
information, please visit chefkevingillespie.com.
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