Event Location
Sia’s Restaurant
10305 Medlock Bridge Rd., Duluth, GA

Sunday, November 4, 6:00 P.M.
Members $200, guests $250

For reservations or more information,
please call Mary Reynolds at (770) 650-0098.

Last year, Scott Serpas, executive chef at Sia’s in Atlanta, hosted his first Friends of James Beard Benefit. The star-studded foodie show was such a success that he’s doing it all over again. This time around, Kevin Rathbun of NAVA and Bluepointe makes a return appearance; he’ll share the stage with Jamie Adams of Eno, Laurent Branlard of The Ritz-Carlton Buckhead, and Gerry Klaskala of Aria.

Serpas and Rathbun go back a long way. Serpas worked on the line at the Brennan family’s Mr. B’s Bistro and honed his pastry skills at Le Meridien Hotel. Rathbun’s an alum of the Brennan empire, too: he cooked at Brennan’s of Houston, then went to the source with a turn at Commander’s Palace in New Orleans. He was top toque at Baby Routh in Dallas when Serpas met up with him. Four years later, Rathbun and Serpas moved to Atlanta to become chef and sous chef, respectively, at NAVA. Serpas went on to serve as chef de cuisine at Mike’s on the Avenue back in New Orleans; then in 1998, he was tapped for the top toque gig at Sia’s. He’s earned top marks for his gorgeous Southwestern fare at this "cocoon of luxury," as Atlanta magazine termed it—a three-star review from the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, kudos for his "perfectly cooked" fare, as Atlanta put it. Rathbun, meanwhile, has won serious praise for his work at NAVA: the restaurant was one of Esquire’s Top New Restaurants of 1995, Rathbun’s "delectable, artfully presented" fare has landed him in Zagat’s Top Five three years running, and AccessAtlanta.com called Bluepointe, his latest venture, "a sizzling vision of big-city glamour and state-of-the-art fusion cookery."

Adams, partner and executive chef at Eno, trained in a number of top restaurants across Italy. Then he headed home to Atlanta, where he joined the Buckhead Life Restaurant Group as sous chef at Capriccio. When the restaurant underwent a redo and a renaming (it’s now Pricci), Adams served as sous chef at the Atlanta Fish Market. He was executive chef at Veni Vidi Vici before taking over the stoves at Eno, where his Mediterranean-influence fare has earned him sustained applause.

Klaskala, executive chef/managing partner at Aria, is a CIA grad who put in ten years with the Hyatt Hotels Corporation, finishing up as executive chef at the company’s Boston and Savannah outposts. He helped launch Savannah’s 45 South, then served as chef and managing partner at Atlanta’s much-loved Buckhead Diner, where he earned nationwide attention for his clear, strong flavors. He locked in his love affair with Atlanta at Canoe, a restaurant he continues to co-own. This year, he won the Robert Mondavi Culinary Award of Excellence.

Branlard, executive pastry chef of The Ritz-Carlton Buckhead, rounds out our star-studded bill. He developed his winning way with sweets during internships at le Maison Heurtaux in Paris and Claridge’s in London, and worked at a slew of top patisseries in France. He was executive pastry chef at the Ritz-Carlton St. Thomas before coming to the Mobil Five-Star, Zagat number one-rated Dining Room at the tony Atlanta hostelry, where his pastries have been highly praised.