Kevin Rathbun
Rathbun’s/Kevin Rathbun Steak, Atlanta GA
taped at Nava, Atlanta
http://www.rathbunsrestaurant.com
Exciting food that is beyond the expected: This is how critics describe Kevin Rathbun´s cooking. It´s the kind of food he has spent his career learning how to create. His previous position as executive chef at Baby Routh in Dallas let Rathbun bring to Nava and later to Rathbun´s and Kevin Rathbun Steak a grounding in popular Southwest flavors and a well-rounded understanding of regional American food.
You could say that his Missouri birth placed him at the very center of it all, able to gaze out in all directions with a certain amount of perspective. One of Rathbun´s first jobs was in the kitchen at Kansas City´s Au Bonne Auberge, where his mother served as maitre d´ for seven years. Rathbun´s major apprenticeship was under chef Bradley Ogden, at The American Restaurant in Kansas City. Within a year, he was promoted to sous-chef.
‚“I learned a lot from Bradley,‚” Rathbun recalls. ‚“And I especially admired his ability to work with, challenge, and nurture his staff. That trait, together with my mother´s example of hospitality and rapport with dining guests, I will always carry with me from my early training.‚”
Completing his apprenticeship in 1984, Rathbun headed south to Texas to serve as sous-chef at Brennan´s of Houston. Three years later, remaining with the Brennan family, he moved to New Orleans as sous-chef at Commander´s Palace. By 1988 it was back to Texas, to serve as sous-chef and eventually executive chef of Baby Routh. Before that restaurant closed its doors and Rathbun took on the brave new world of Atlanta, Baby Routh had a highly praised run. While Rathbun was at the helm, it drew praise from Mimi Sheraton in Travel & Leisure as ‚“one of America´s 25 best restaurants.‚” In 1993, it received the DiRoNA Award for Dining Excellence.
Rathbun has won awards in every category, including nomination for a James Beard award as Rising Star Chef (early, in 1994), and Share Our Strength´s Southeast Chef of the Year (2002). He´s been featured in magazines, on TV, and as a guest instructor for culinary classes. Share Our Strength is not his only interest; Rathbun also assists the American Cancer Society, the American Heart Association, Meals on Wheels, the Atlanta Food Bank, and many other projects.
