the chef
Joey Ward.
The Atlanta chef behind Southern Belle and Georgia Boy, both recommended by the MICHELIN Guide, and a 2022 James Beard Award semifinalist for Best Chef: Southeast. Now he's turning that curiosity toward fried chicken.
No. 01 · The Long Story
Joey Ward grew up in Georgia and decided as a kid that he wanted to cook. He trained at the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, New York, then came home to Atlanta and built his career in its kitchens.
He learned classic French fundamentals at Cherokee Town & Country Club, opened the St. Regis Atlanta as a sous chef, and cooked under Kevin Gillespie at Woodfire Grill. In 2013 the two opened Gunshow together, where Ward ran the kitchen for the next six years and turned the rules of conventional dining on their head.
In November 2019 he opened Southern Belle and Georgia Boy in Poncey-Highland as chef and owner. Both are recommended by the MICHELIN Guide, and in 2022 he was named a James Beard Award semifinalist for Best Chef: Southeast. Southern Belle Chicken Co. is that same restlessness, pointed at fried chicken.
at the pass
“I'm a kid that grew up wanting to play with his food, and I just never stopped.”
Joey Ward, MICHELIN Guide
No. 02 · Before Southern Belle
Where Joey cooked.
- 2005Culinary Institute of AmericaCulinary Arts Management degree, Hyde Park, New York.
- Before 2013Atlanta kitchensCherokee Town & Country Club, the St. Regis Atlanta opening team, Woodfire Grill under Kevin Gillespie, then his first executive chef role at H. Harper Station.
- 2013Gunshow, AtlantaCo-opened with Kevin Gillespie. Ran the kitchen until 2019.
- 2019Southern Belle and Georgia BoyOpened both in Poncey-Highland as chef and owner. Each is recommended by the MICHELIN Guide.
- 2022James Beard Award semifinalistBest Chef: Southeast.
- 2026Southern Belle Chicken Co.Fried chicken with a passport, at 190 Marietta Street.
philosophy
“Atlanta is a complicated place. It has deep southern roots, but at the same time it's a modern metropolis with a melting pot of cultures.”
Joey Ward, Restaurant Informer
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