Ryan Smith

Staplehouse | Atlanta

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april 2023

Growing up in State College, Pennsylvania, Ryan Smith took up an interest in restaurant culture when he found himself washing dishes during high school. He loved how inspired he felt by the cooks and how much he had to learn. After college, he enrolled at the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, and when he graduated in 2000, decided to relocate to Atlanta at the suggestion of a fellow graduate.

Since his arrival down South, Smith has worked in some of the city’s most influential kitchens, such as Canoe and Rising Stars alum Anne Quatrano’s Bacchanalia. Smith went on to join the team at Restaurant Eugene and Holeman & Finch under another Rising Stars alum, Linton Hopkins. He worked his way up to chef de cuisine, and began focusing on his passion for charcuterie, while also bringing his team on foraging trips to the local Atlanta wilderness.

In 2010, Smith teamed up with Rising Stars alum Hugh Acheson as executive chef of Empire State South, where he flexed his enthusiasm for Southern ingredients and techniques, and learned firsthand from Acheson on how to lead a team. Smith was named a StarChefs Rising Star two years later, before moving to Staplehouse as executive chef in 2015. There, Smith has focused his vast culinary expertise on creating memorable dining experiences for his guests. Smith has worked closely with Atlanta charity Giving Kitchen, while also dedicating himself to teaching and uplifting the next generation of Atlanta chefs.

2023 StarChefs Atlanta Mentor Chef Award Winner
2012 StarChefs Atlanta Rising Stars Award Winner

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