176: Kevin Gillespie, Red Beard Restaurants, Atlanta, GA (Live from Charleston Wine + Food)

When I typed the name “Kevin Gillespie” in Google, one of the suggestions that came up was Top Chef Kevin. How cool is it if that’s your nickname? But if you just know Chef Kevin Gillespie from Bravo’s Top Chef, then you only know half the story. He’s a chef’s chef, building community behind the scenes, cooking great food out of his growing number of restaurants in Atlanta, and a scholar of technique and Southern culture, which is evident in his writing. His family of restaurants: Gunshow, Revival, Communion, Cold Beer, and Old Reliable, are under a parent company he calls Red Beard Restaurants, and right now, Red Beard Family Meals are one of the hottest to-go tickets in Atlanta. We recorded this during the Charleston Wine + Food Festival, a time that now seems super distant, but his passion for his staff, his craft, and the future of both spurs him on.