DiRoNA Conference Draws Hundreds of Chefs, Highlights Southern Cuisine

Atlanta event honors 26 restaurants, presents fine-dining trends

Atlanta (November 2006) – Southern fried chicken, hush puppies and pecan pie were on the minds of attendees at this year’s premiere fine-dining event: the Distinguished Restaurants of North America’s (DiRoNA) Gala & Educational Conference. Held here on October 22-24 at the Ritz-Carlton Buckhead, the conference drew hundreds of chefs, restaurateurs and industry icons, and featured educational panels including, “The Glories of Southern Cuisine, Past and Present.”

Moderated by Food Arts magazine Editor-in-Chief, Michael Batterberry, this panel discussed the history and evolution of Southern cuisine, and its place on fine-dining menus across the country.

“Southern food shouldn’t be preserved in a jar. It is a very living, dynamic type of cuisine that allows us to cherish the freshness and heritage of our past while doing new things with it,” said panelist Linton Hopkins, chef at Atlanta’s Eugene Restaurant. “Southern cuisine is on par with any cuisine in the world in a sense that it comes from barn freshness and family heritage.”

The four other panelists included: Scott Peacock, executive chef at Watershed in Atlanta; Chef Anne Quatrano, who runs the Atlanta restaurants Bacchanalia, Floataway Café, Star Provisions, Provisions to Go and Quinones at Bacchanalia; Dean Dupuis, executive chef at the local South City Kitchen and Phila Hach, renowned cookbook author and  innkeeper at Hachland Hill in Joelton, TN.

The panel not only addressed new twists on old Southern favorites—think butter bean hummus—but also focused on regional staples that are catching on nationwide.

“Ten years ago, okra was an outcast vegetable, and suddenly it has become chic—not just in the South, but all over the country,” said Peacock, who also noted the widespread availability of items like heirloom tomatoes and collard greens.

DiRoNA’s Gala & Educational Conference also featured the panels “Food Trends: Staying Ahead of the Curve,” and “ Training: Trials, Tribulations and Triumphs.” The respective moderators were Jim Doherty, executive vice president of Lebhar Friedman, publisher of Nation’s Restaurant News, and Ronn Wiegand, master of wine/master sommelier and publisher of the online newsletter Restaurant Wine.

The three-day conference began with the Flavors of Atlanta reception, presented by DiRoNA and Flavors magazine. Chefs from nine local DiRoNA restaurants served specialty dishes, with the help of students from Atlanta’s Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts.

The president of the National Restaurant Association (NRA), Steve Anderson, delivered the keynote speech. In addition, a welcome luncheon featured a “fireside chat” between Peter Elliot, editor/radio host for Bloomberg  L  .P ., and Richard Melman, chairman and founder of Chicago-based Lettuce Entertain You Enterprises, Inc., and this year’s DiRoNA Hall of Fame recipient.

Concluding the three-day conference was a black-tie Gala at the legendary Fox Theatre to formally induct 26 restaurants as the 2007 winners of the coveted DiRoNA distinction.

“This year’s inductees represent the best fine-dining establishments in North America,” said John Metz, Jr., this year’s conference chairman, incoming chairman of DiRoNA and president and CEO of Greazy Spoon Development Co. (whose local restaurants include Hi Life, Aqua Blue, and Marlow’s Tavern). “I am proud to have welcomed them into DiRōNA in Atlanta, a center of culinary activity.”

For conference details and photos or information about the 2007 DiR oNA restaurants:  212.297.2109; www.dirona.org .

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