Anne Quatrano

Events

BB&T and The Local Palate Present Farm Feast Auction Benefiting Feed the Need and Lowcountry Local First’s Incubator Farm and Training Center
Perfectly Paired Dinners
Restaurant:Abattoir + Star Provisions
Address:Atlanta, GA
Website: www.starprovisions.com

Chef. Innovator. Visionary. Anne Quatrano is widely held to be one of the country’s greatest chefs. Her meticulous attention to detail dovetails seamlessly with her devotion to freshness, flavor and simplicity. A longtime proponent of sustainability, Anne has – since her earliest days – prided herself in using locally grown seasonal and organic produce, much of which is from her own organic gardens.  Together with her husband, award-winning chef Clifford Harrison, she operates six of Atlanta’s most celebrated restaurants – Bacchanalia, Floataway Café, Star Provisions, Provisions To Go, Quinones at Bacchanalia and Abattoir.

Originally from Connecticut, Anne Quatrano attributes her passion for cooking to spending time with her grandmother in the kitchen.  Though she grew up in New England, Anne developed deep roots in Georgia by spending summers at her mother’s family farm, Summerland, near Cartersville.  Anne is now the fifth generation of her family to live on the farm.

Her culinary career began at the California Culinary Academy in San Francisco, where she met her husband and partner, Clifford Harrison.  It was the 80s, and both chefs developed a keen sense of place as well as process. Highly influenced by chefs such as Alice Waters and Judy Rodgers (with whom Anne apprenticed), the two were instilled with an understanding of ingredients as well as technique, and the mantra has proven itself in their every endeavor. After graduation in 1987, they moved to New York where she and Clifford worked as a chef team at Bimini Twist, La Petit Ferme and The Grolier Club. In 1991, Anne was chosen as part of the James Beard Foundation’s “Discovery Chefs of the Year” with Harrison. This distinction was to be the first of many accolades from the prestigious James Beard Foundation, including later nods as nominees for the “Best Chef of the Southeast” in the years 2000, 2001 and 2002, and subsequently as the winners of the coveted award in 2003.

In 1992, Quatrano moved home to her family property in Cartersville, Ga., where she designed the couple’s award-winning home on Summerland Farm.  The welcoming homestead has been featured in Metropolitan Home, Food & Wine, Country Living, Bon Appetit, Great Chefs, Great Kitchens (Design Book) and many more.  On the farm, her life with her husband mirrors their philosophy on food: They believe in going back to the basics to produce the spectacular.  A model of self-sufficiency, their farm features a barn and show ring designed for their 20 horses and also is home to eight dogs, six cows, six Nubian nanny goats, two pigs, two cats and many messy, free-range chickens. Furthering her commitment to utilizing locally grown, seasonal and organic produce, Anne is currently a member of the Board of Directors of Georgia Organics, the member supported non-profit organization that works to integrate healthy, sustainable and locally grown food into the lives of all Georgians.

Additional culinary kudos for Quatrano have included Food & Wine’s “10 Best New Chefs” award in 1995, the opportunity to represent Atlanta at the James Beard Olympic Preview in 1996 and the StarChefs.com “Rising Stars Mentor Award” in 2007.  Most recently, Quatrano received the Women Chefs & Restaurateurs Golden Whisk Award in 2008; she also sat on the board for Women Chefs & Restaurateurs from 2000 to 2007 and is on the board of the James Beard Foundation.

In addition to numerous local and national accolades, including a five-star review from the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Bacchanalia was honored in 1998 as an inductee to the Fine Dining Hall of Fame of the National Restaurant Association, a testament to Anne’s philosophy and hard work. Anne has been featured on CNN’s “On The Menu” and “Hot Chefs,” GPTV’s “Cooking for the Holidays,” Food Network’s “Great Chefs” and “Ultimate Kitchens,” CNN’s “Tips from the Top” and “Great Cities” on the Discovery Channel.