Ben Norton

Years of Participation

2020, 2022-2023

Ben Norton is the Executive Chef of Husk Nashville, Music City’s outpost of Neighborhood Dining Group’s famed restaurant known for celebrating the bounty of the area with local Southern fare. Growing up helping out in the kitchen, Norton spent most his childhood in gardens, collecting fresh produce and herbs for his parents. He got his start in restaurants as a teenager, working in kitchens throughout high school in his hometown of Atlanta, GA, and hasn’t stopped since. Knowing he was destined for a life as a chef, he earned his Associates Degree in Culinary Arts from Chattahoochee Technical College in Atlanta.

Following graduation, he trained under James Beard Award-winning Chef Linton Hopkins at fine-dining pioneer Restaurant Eugene. After three years as Executive Sous Chef, Norton craved a change of pace and headed to the Lowcountry to join the team at McCrady’s in Charleston, SC in 2015. First serving as Sous Chef and then promoted to Executive Chef shortly thereafter, Norton enjoyed fostering a creative environment at McCrady’s, with a fresh approach to fine dining.

In June 2021, Norton reunited with his Neighborhood Dining Group family as Executive Chef of Husk Nashville. Helming the restaurant’s ever changing menu, he works closely with local farmers and purveyors to source the season’s freshest ingredients in addition to utilizing the bountiful on-site garden.