Seven chefs covering a wide culinary range were named the 2025 Georgia Grown Executive Chefs by Georgia Commissioner of Agriculture Tyler Harper and Georgia Restaurant Association President and CEO Stephanie Fischer.
The 2025 Executive Chefs are Joey Ward, Georgia Boy & Southern Belle, Atlanta; Carlos Granderson, Southern National, Atlanta; Alan Byers, The Deer and the Dove, Decatur; Jamie Keating, EPIC Restaurants, Columbus; Woolery “Woody” Beck, Table & Main, Roswell; Chelsia Ogletree, Her Majesty Kitchen + Catering, Forsyth; and Joshua Sweeney, Sincere Fare, Atlanta.
The announcement was made during the annual Taste of Georgia Legislative Reception on Feb. 13 at the Georgia Freight Depot in Atlanta. The chefs are the 16th class selected in the Georgia Grown Executive Chef program.
The chefs will participate in the program to strengthen awareness of Georgia Grown products around the state. The program also acknowledges culinary professionals prioritizing Georgia Grown in their restaurants, schools and communities.
At the reception, Harper thanked the chefs for their efforts in using Georgia Grown food and products in their businesses. He also thanked the Georgia Restaurant Association for continuing support of the program.
“These talented chefs from across Georgia have showcased their dedication to supporting our state’s agricultural community and earned the honor of wearing the Georgia Grown chef’s coat,” Harper said. “By sourcing fresh, locally grown ingredients and forging meaningful connections between farmers, suppliers, and the culinary world, they are strengthening Georgia’s No. 1 industry and bringing the farm closer to the fork.”
GRA President and CEO Stephanie Fischer congratulated the chefs on the honor. She explained that the GRA’s mission is to serve as the voice for Georgia’s restaurants in advocacy, education and awareness from large chains to start-up businesses. She said the collaboration the organization has with Georgia farmers and agricultural producers is an integral part of those efforts.
“By engaging in this program, chefs contribute to a greater awareness of the importance of buying and eating locally, thereby supporting Georgia’s agricultural community and enhancing the state’s culinary landscape, Fischer said. “Our 2025 Executive Chefs have demonstrated excellence in their field and a commitment to service. Through their participation in this program, they are inspiring the next generation of culinary professionals to make meaningful contributions to their communities.”
Each chef brings their unique background to the program. Sweeney said he works to bring locally-grown food to his clients through his catering business, Sincère Fare, and to the thousands of meals prepared for hospitals at the corporate level with Compass Group.
He believes the food grown locally tastes better and that it builds communities. The lesson came to him when he was a kid and visiting his grandmother in Georgia, where she and her neighbors shared food from their gardens and backyard livestock animals. Sweeney’s parents also preferred shopping at local farmers’ markets for their produce, and he remembered them talking with the farmers about the food they sold.
“So when I became a chef, even the farmers would come to the restaurant in the restaurants where I worked. That’s the connection they had once a week, and we would try different produce. We’d go to the farms and pick our produce,” Sweeney said. “The chef I worked with ensured that we had a deep knowledge of what we were doing on a day-to-day basis and have a respect for the food. So naturally, as I progressed in my career, I took that philosophy with me and tried to implement it as much as possible.”
Sweeney said he looks forward to collaborating with the other chefs and learning from them in the program.
“I think community is something that’s super important, so being able to touch base with other chefs would be valuable and vital, especially chefs that share the same philosophy. I’m interested in continuing to develop those relationships with my colleagues within the cohort.”
To learn more about the Georgia Grown Executive Chefs program, visit www.garestaurants.org.
Georgia Grown is a program of the Georgia Department of Agriculture that provides branding, education, marketing and business connections to expand agribusinesses and the agricultural industry throughout Georgia. Learn more at www.GeorgiaGrown.com.
