FoodieBuddha.com

I hope I’m not alone when I say that I couldn’t care less to hear where “Famous Movie Star XYZ” or “Who the hell is that person and why do I care who they are ABC” happen to be at any given moment.  I care even less about where they eat, especially in our city.  Still, if that’s your bag baby then I’m not really hear to harsh on you.

However, I do become inquisitive when someone notable in the food world comes to Atlanta with a real purpose.  Such is the case with Star Chefs, a culinary industry magazine/website that you may not have heard about, but you probably should know.  They’re in Atlanta right now … and here’s why.

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Chef Cyrille Holota, formerly of the defunct JOEL Brasserie, has just been named the new chef at French American Brasserie, colloquially known as FAB.  It’s a somewhat interesting union, as both the restaurant and the new chef have been witness to a metamorphosis or two.

Holota, who appeared in an early rendition of Inside the Chef’s Kitchen, took over the helm of highly regarded JOEL after Joel Antunes, the restaurant’s namesake, left for the Big Apple.  Under his watch, JOEL transformed into JOEL Brasserie, a more toned down version of its predecessor.  Unfortunately, the restaurant died just a few months ago amidst a swirling of rumors.

Meanwhile, FAB has its own notable history.  For many years, a restaurant by the name of Brasserie Le Coze was a mainstay of the French culinary scene in Atlanta.  Stationed in Lenox Square, the restaurant operated from 1994 until 2007 (or thereabouts).  Operating under the ownership of Fabrice Vergez since 2003, BLC closed when Niemen Marcus went gang busters in Lenox.

It will be interesting to see how things change at FAB as the Holota signing seems like a bit of a coup.  In addition to several confirmations from people on the periphery, a call to the restaurant confirmed that Holota was the new chef.  However, the gentleman who answered the phone did not seem to have any more information for me.  I’ll see what else I can shake out.

Hey y’all … I’m mobile so this will be short. JOEL Brasserie has closed its doors … effective today. I’ve got details on who is taking over the space but ill have to wait until I’m back in front of the computer for all that.

JOËL Brasserie, the adapted version of JOËL, is set to stop serving lunch on April 1, 2010.  For now, it’s business as usual, so you can still grab one of their much discussed burgers.  I am not sure if anything else at the restaurant will change; however, it wouldn’t surprise me to hear a few more things get at little tweaking.  There are some other rumors out there as well, but nothing that can be printed as of yet.  Stay tuned.

Something tells me that Cyrille Holota had no idea what was in store for him some years ago.  In the mid-90s, Holota was racking up quit the resume.  After cooking at several different Michelin winning restaurants (including 3-star powerhouse L’Arpege), Holota came to our beloved city to join Joël Antunes over at The Dining Room.  In 2001, JA left to open his namesake restaurant with Holota in tow.

From there, Holota began his methodical climb to the top.  He started as sous chef de cuisine, then moved to chef de cuisine, and finally, in 2008, landed on top as the executive chef.  Soon after, things got hairy, mostly for reasons well beyond his control.

In the past year and change, perhaps no Atlanta restaurant has been more maligned than JOËL Brasserie.  First, the restaurant’s namesake split for the bright lights of New York City.  Antunes’ tenure at the helm of the famed Oak Room was short to say the least.  Within a few months, he found himself out of a job.  Initial questions as to whether the Frenchman would shutdown his Atlanta restaurant were soon replaced with rumors of his return.  Then, the restaurant closed up for a bit (to remodel), leading to even more questions.  Just when things were getting back on track for the rebranded JOËL, they ran into that whole debacle with their liquor license.  Why do I bring this up?  Because so little of the bad press actually had anything to do with the restaurant and the experience within.

All this while, back in the kitchen, standing tall and proud, was none other than chef Holota.  The French national from Montlucon stood his ground and did so with a smile on his face.  Things around him blew up, and yet there he was, bringing his personality to the forefront of JOËL Brasserie’s food experience.

Now, the enduring character behind JB’s is here for a little relaxing, some quick wit, and a little bit of mystery (anyone know French?).  And with that, welcome to ITCK!

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JOËL Brasserie, that much maligned Buckhead restaurant, got some big news about an hour ago.  Roughly three weeks after the restaurant lost it’s liquor license, the government gods have smiled fortuitously on chef Cyrille Holota and his team.  Word from Holota is that the restaurant has gotten a shiny new liquor license and will celebrate this week with some deep discounts on wine.  Say what you will about the restaurant, I think we can all agree that this is a good thing.  Nothing is worse than a restaurant failing due to some government regulation.

Cheers to Holota!

This morning, as I was digging through my twitter feed, I came across this video.  It’s a nice little interview with Cyrille Holota, the executive chef at JOËL.  The Buckhead restaurant is still alive and kicking, long after the departure of namesake Joël Antunes.

JOËL Restaurant Address & Information:
3290 Northside Pkwy NW, Atlanta, GA 30327 // P: 404.233.3500 // JOEL Website // JOEL Menu