Waffle House Love Keeps Coming From Top Chefs

NORCROSS, GA — The love from America's top chefs for Georgia-based Waffle House just keeps on coming.

Sean Brock, executive chef at Husk restaurant in Charleston, South Carolina, has written an ode to the chain for the "Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown" website.

It was Brock who in 2015 introduced the celebrity chef and CNN personality to his very first Waffle House meal.

In his essay, "Decoding the Waffle House," Brock spares no superlatives praising the chain, which he says he has loved since he was a teen and where watching the line cooks in action helped inspire him to become a chef.

"My biggest takeaway from the Waffle House is how you feel when you leave—this whole-hearted fullness, this recharging of your soul," Brock writes. "You feel like you been taken care of, nourished, connected with old-time friends. That’s what I chase at all of my restaurants, and I learned it at the Waffle House."

Read more: Tom Forkner, Waffle House Co-Founder, Dead At 98

Waffle House was founded in Avondale Estates in 1955 by Tom Forkner and Joe Rogers Sr.

The eatery quickly became a regional hit and a cultural force in the South when it started franchising in the late 1960s. The pair had opened 400 restaurants by the end of the 1970s, when they sold the business to their children. The chain now has more than 2,100 locations in 25 states.

Brock, who grew up in Virginia, writes about moving to Charleston and becoming a nightly patron at Waffle House while he was a student and working early restaurant jobs.

"There’s magic in the air there," he wrote. "When you pull into that parking lot, the stress of the world leaves you. You know everything is going to be alright. It’s the way you feel when you go to a spa — pampered by someone giving you their full attention.

"You know the food is going to be exactly the same, no matter which branch you go to. I’ve been going to the Waffle House for over 20 years and the menu hasn’t changed. Chefs are all so hardwired for change, but there’s comfort in not changing. The Waffle House was always that for me. You never have to worry about the hours. Always open. It’s always there — a sanctuary."

Do you share Brock and Bourdain's love for the Waffle House? If so, let us know why you're such a fan in the comment section below.

Photo via Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown YouTube