Brandon Whitestone

Chef / Partner

Brandon began his career in New Hampshire at the critically acclaimed C.R. Sparks, and after attending New England Culinary Institute in Vermont, a few brief stints in Boston and New Hampshire, he moved to Miami to work for Chef Allen Susser.

At Chef Allen’s, he became deeply involved in Farm to Table cooking, and Allen became his mentor, introducing him to many new cuisines and ingredients. After several years he took over the kitchen for the James Beard Award winning chef, was nominated for Best Up & Coming Chef Miami, and met Kimberly, who would eventually become his wife.

After numerous consulting positions, and much research, he and Kimberly made their way to Savannah in 2013, where they began working to create Cotton & Rye.

Daniel Doyle

EXECUTIVE CHEF, MANAGING PARTNER

As the Executive Chef of Charleston’s Poogan’s Porch, Chef Daniel Doyle takes a contemporary approach to traditional Lowcountry dishes. His experience and passion drives Doyle to be innovative in the kitchen of this established restaurant. Locally sourcing meat, produce and grains from Charleston and its surrounding areas has been a passion of Doyle’s ever since joining the restaurant in 2007. With each year, he works to refine the food and make the flavor profiles stronger.

In 2012, Doyle became a managing partner at Poogan’s Porch. That same year he was invited to cook at the prestigious James Beard House in New York City, and asked to return in 2013 and again in September of 2014. In 2015, Poogan’s Hospitality Group opened a more casual, barbecue focused sister restaurant Poogan’s Smokehouse, where Doyle also serves as executive chef.

Eric Fulkerson

Executive Chef

The South's most popular restaurant has a new Executive Chef, Eric Fulkerson. Fulkerson previously served as the Chef de Cuisine at Reynolds' Plantation Creek Club. He is a graduate of the Culinary Arts at Johnson & Wales University in Charleston, South Carolina. Prior to joining Reynolds Plantation, Fulkerson was Sous Chef at Osprey Point Restaurant at Kiawah Island Golf Resort, South Carolina. Fulkerson is no stranger to cooking for celebrities, as he previously prepared a lunch for Laura Bush and catered an event for former President George W. Bush.

Margot McCormack

CHEF

Margot spent Saturday mornings as a little girl in the kitchen with her mother. She loved cooking, eating and spending time with her mom. As a student at UT Knoxville, Margot’s first professional cooking job was as a line cook at Bennigan’s. Upon graduation with a BA in English, Margot moved back to Nashville to pursue a creative writing career but instead found herself back in the kitchen working for local restaurateur Jody Faison at his very popular restaurant Faison’s. Jody encouraged her to be creative and introduced her to the work of Alice Waters. Motivated by her experience at Faison’s, Margot enrolled in the culinary arts program at the Culinary Institute of America. After completing the 21 month program Margot set her sights on New York City where she became the chef at Danal, a quaint European café in the East Village. There she embraced the food and culture of France. Her ideas about cooking began to take shape as she honed her skills and developed her style.

In 1995 Margot returned home and became the Executive chef at F. Scott’s. Over the next five years she reacquainted herself with the Nashville dining community and they embraced her vision of fresh, simple food prepared well. In 2001 she left to pursue her dream of opening her own restaurant, Margot Café & Bar, and opened a second location, Marche Artisan Foods, in 2006. Margot’s philosophy on food and cooking is inspired by the French culture, based on seasonality and the very best locally sourced ingredients. Margot is not looking to reinvent food but to reintroduce it in a personal and accessible way.

Savannah Sasser

CHEF

As Executive Chef of Hampton + Hudson, a local community gastro pub located in the Atlanta neighborhood of Inman Park, Savannah Sasser oversees culinary development and ensuring the kitchen is operating at its highest performance on a daily basis. With over 10 years of culinary experience, Chef Sasser works with fresh local foods, and makes a conscious effort in working with farmers to create an elevated locally sourced menu with items that change seasonally. She provides Hampton + Hudson’s guests with consistent, innovative, and honest food.

Savannah has had a strong passion for cooking from a very young age. Growing up, she quickly realized that cooking is so much more than just nourishment. She has always believed that food is the ingredient that brings a community of people together. Her creativity and interest lead her to culinary school, where she received her culinary foundation and formal French training in Culinary Arts from Le Cordon Bleu of Pittsburgh. After school, she trained under Chef Jacky Francois, a classical trained French chef overseeing the historic Omni William Penn Hotel in Pittsburg. To date she has cooked for dignitaries, celebrities, and all-star athletes from around the world.

Savannah is a member of the La Dame de Escoffler International, a philanthropic organization of women leaders in the fields of food, fine beverage and hospitality, She was named an Executive Georgia Grown Chef in 2016, which fosters a statewide program in Georgia between Chefs and Farmers, and is a board member of D.I.G., Development in Gardening's (DIG) work with vulnerable communities around the world. She currently coordinates and cooks at the Georgia Grown Dinner at The James Beard House in New York, NY.

Thomas Marlow

Chef

Thomas Marlow is the Executive Chef of the award winning Mimosa Grill in Uptown Charlotte, NC. Marlow was born and raised in Fairport, NY before coming to Charlotte to attend Johnson & Wales University to obtain an Associate’s Degree in Culinary Arts and B.S. in Food Service Management.

Chef Marlow joined Harper’s Restaurant Group in 2009 under the tutelage of Executive Chef Jon Fortes, he honed his skills and moved through various Harper’s Group locations as the chef de cuisine of Upstream and Zink American Kitchen before coming full circle back to Mimosa Grill as Executive Chef. Alongside the team from Mimosa, Marlow won both the 2013 and 2014 “Fire in the City” Competition Dining Series and the NC State Competition dining Series in 2014.

Most recently since taking the reins of Mimosa Grill, Marlow has led the restaurant to Visit Charlotte’s 2015 Restaurant of the year and Food Service Magazine’s Top 100 Independent Restaurants in America in 2015.

Marlow says that his favorite thing about being in the kitchen is his appreciation for teaching young and eager cooks and fellow chefs and pushing himself to learn more every day. Away from the kitchen Marlow enjoys a long paddle on his kayak at the lake, hitting the links with good friends or gaining inspiration through his travels.

Chef Marlow is a proud member of the Piedmont Culinary Guild based in Charlotte, NC and has been a member of the Southern Foodways Alliance since 2012, where he will be cooking a family style breakfast for the Summer 2017 “Sur Latino” SFA Symposium on June 23. Marlow is the host chef of the annual No Kid Hungry Dinner held at Mimosa Grill to raise awareness to end childhood hunger in America and you can join his fight at nokidhungry.org

Todd Richards

Chef

Chef Todd Richards is award wining chef known for his contemporary cooking style fashioned in many cooking traditions; most noted Soul Cuisine and Southern Cuisine. He has garnered the prestigious AAA 5 Diamond Award for restaurant excellence from 2003 to 2008, Best Chef to Watch by Esquire Magazine 2011, 3 James Beard Nominations 2007, 2008, 2012, Best BBQ Restaurant by Bon Appetite 2008, Best New Restaurant by Conde Nast 2014, Eater Chef of the Year Nomination 2016 & Best Restaurant Dishes from Atlanta Magazine, Zagat Magazine 2016. In addition Chef Richards was named Best Chef 2016 by Thrillist an Online Magazine, appoint-ed to the board of Wholesome Wave Charity and continues to be founder council member of At-lanta Food & Wine. Chef Richards’ book, Soul from Collard Greens to Escargot, is being pub-lished by Time Inc including Oxmoor House, Time Magazine, Southern Living Magazine, Food & Wine Magazine.

Chef Richards has worked for some of the most prestigious hotels and restaurants including The Fours Season Hotel Company (Atlanta), The Ritz-Carlton Hotel (Atlanta, Buckhead & West Palm Beach), The Oakroom @ The Seelbach Hotel (Louisville), Villa Christina (Atlanta), White Oak Kitchen and Cocktails (Atlanta). In addition Chef Richards has partnered and consulted in many successful ventures including One Flew South (Atlanta Airport), The Pig and The Pearl (Atlantic Station Atlanta), and Chicken & Beer (Atlanta Airport).

Chef Richards latest restaurant, with his partners Brewed to Serve Restaurants, opened Richards’ Southern Fried which has been named Best New Restaurant 2017 by the Atlanta Journal Consti-tution. Atlanta Magazine named 2 of the dishes chicken & waffles and the chicken sandwich as best dishes of 2016. Creative Loafing Magazine named a side dish of “Collard Green Pho” as best dish of 2017.

Zach Shultz

Owner

Zach began his career working at several Savannah restaurants during high school, before moving to Tampa to work with Big Time Restaurant Group. While there he developed a passion for the industry, and wanting to take his knowledge to the next level, moved to Miami to attend Johnson and Wales University, where he earned degrees in Culinary Arts and Hotel & Restaurant Management.

While in Miami, he managed to get a coveted position at Chef Allen Susser’s landmark restaurant, Chef Allen’s where he met Brandon Whitestone, and the two developed a lasting friendship.

Zach kept in touch with Brandon after moving on to the acclaimed Louie’s Backyard in Key West, and upon his return to Savannah in 2010, he founded a successful restaurant equipment company. Zach found that he missed the excitement that comes with working in a restaurant, and he and Brandon began discussing plans to open a place of their own.