New Executive Chef Named for Gypsy Kitchen, The Southern Gentleman

Staff Report

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.”