For more information:
Morgan Dyches or Emily Connolly
Melissa Libby
& Associates
404-816-3068
5CHURCH WELCOMES JAMES BEARD AWARD WINNER
RJ COOPER AS EXECUTIVE CHEF AT NEW MIDTOWN RESTAURANT
Seasoned Chef Returns to City Where Career Began for New Role
ATLANTA (May 11,
2016)– The restaurant team behind 5Church
Atlanta, the third location of the Charlotte, North Carolina-based modern
American restaurant, has hired James Beard Award winner RJ Cooper as the
restaurant’s executive chef. Slated to open this spring at the corner of 14th
and Peachtree Streets in Midtown, 5Church will serve a technique-driven menu led
by Cooper under the culinary direction of partner Jamie Lynch, who also
oversees the menus of the Charlotte and Charleston, South Carolina, locations.
Cooper,
who began his career working under famed chefs Guenter Seeger at The Dining
Room at The Ritz-Carlton, Buckhead and Gilbert Le Coze at Brasserie Le Coze in
Atlanta, is collaborating with Lynch to design an eclectic menu that represents
both the well-rounded nature of 5Church’s owners – Lynch, Patrick Whalen, Ayman
Kamel and Alejandro Torio – and the city of Atlanta.
“RJ and I
both have a penchant for exciting the palate,” says Lynch of the similarities
in their cooking styles. “I think Atlanta diners will appreciate us pushing the
envelope with our dishes.”
Like
Lynch, Cooper began his career working under culinary heavyweights and earning
an impressive pedigree while developing a passion for modern cuisine. Both
approach food with a progressive style that is grounded in French cooking
fundamentals and showcases local ingredients.
“RJ’s cooking philosophy aligns very closely with our
management style – we all seek to challenge the culinary status quo,” says
managing partner Kamel, who lives in Atlanta and will operate the restaurant
locally. “He knows his way around the culinary landscape of Atlanta, and his
pioneering skills will serve the city’s discerning diners well.”
A Detroit native who attended the Culinary School at
Kendall College in Chicago, Cooper has an impressive list of accomplishments
under his belt. After his time in Atlanta, he went on to work under Eric Ripert
at Le Bernardin in New York City and Brasserie Le Coze in Miami, Florida,
before returning The Crow’s Nest Restaurant at Hotel Captain Cook in Anchorage,
Alaska, to its original four-star, five-diamond rating.
He went on to generate accolades in Washington, DC, as
the executive chef at New Heights Restaurant and then at Vidalia, where he
worked for seven years with esteemed chef and owner Jeffrey
Buben. While at Vidalia, Cooper was instrumental in the creation of tasting
table “24,” received a 2006 Star Chefs Rising Star Award and the 2007 James
Beard Award for Best Mid-Atlantic Chef.
In
2011, he moved on to open his first restaurant, Rogue 24, in Washington D.C. An
innovative cooking lair that featured a 24-course menu, Rogue 24 was the city’s
first of its kind and earned a three-star review from The Washington Post. Cooper’s second restaurant, Gypsy Soul, opened
in Fairfax, Virginia, in 2014, featuring a progressive menu with Mid-Atlantic
and Southern influences. Now, he looks forward to furthering his
Southern-inspired fare in Atlanta.
5Church
is located at 1197 Peachtree Street NE in Midtown's Colony Square. The
restaurant will serve dinner nightly, with lunch and weekend brunch service to
follow at a later date. Reservations may be made via OpenTable, and
complimentary valet parking is available every day in addition to the expansive
self-parking deck. For updates, follow the restaurant on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter. For
additional information, visit 5churchatlanta.com.
Click
here for a photo of RJ Cooper and Jamie Lynch.
###
No comments:
Post a Comment