About Me

A Baltimore native, I started out in the restaurant business at the age  of 14 and restaurant work financed my high school and (short) college  education. After two and a half years of college, I decided to follow my passion – and palate – switched gears and headed back to the kitchen. I enrolled in the American Culinary Federation Apprenticeship Program and graduated first in my class. During my apprenticeship, I worked under Certified Master Chef Rudy Speckamp. Upon graduation, I  worked at the venerable Mayflower Hotel and in the kitchen of Chef Bob Kinkead’s 21 Federal in the nation’s capital.

Boston was the next stop  where I worked as a Line Chef for Lydia Shire at Biba. Eventually, I returned to  Maryland, where I was Sous Chef at The Polo Grill and Restaurant Chef at Windows at Baltimore’s Renaissance Harborplace Hotel. Next was to New York City to become the opening chef for Foley’s Fish House at Times Square. Finally, I headed south and took the reins at South City Kitchen in Atlanta. I won great reviews for my successful overhaul of the restaurant’s contemporary Southern menu. South City Kitchen was designated one of the top twenty restaurants in Atlanta by the Zagat Guide during my tenure.

I am active in the Atlanta community.  Serving as the chef co-chair for The Flavors of Atlanta, a popular culinary event that benefits the Georgia Chapter of the American Liver Foundation. I also support Share Our Strength’s campaign to end childhood hunger with by participating in Taste of the Nation and Give Me Five event. I have been honored with two invitations to cook at the renowned James Beard House in New York City.

I opened 4th & Swift in Atlanta in June of 2008. My son, Jeb, below right, is Sous Chef