by TM Petaccia

Chris Coleman explains his elevated southern cooking style as “food your mom or grandmom would make if she went to culinary school.” Guests at last night’s Meet the Chef dinner at Haymaker were treated to five dishes, all with familiar downhome themes but with Coleman’s innovative touches. The food covered Coleman’s cooking journey — from his early days as a fish camp cook to his vision for the future of food, “plant-forward with meats used more as a seasoning.”

Guests were also treated to a surprise announcement. His Built on Hospitality team is in the process of developing a fourth restaurant concept: “It will be Uptown and have a beach or coastal theme, from the Carolinas down to Costa Rica.” (Stay tuned for more on that later.) Coleman also gave updates on the restaurant group’s two new bar concepts, Folia coming soon to South End, and Chief’s, coming soon to NoDa.

Below is a small excerpt of the food and fun guests enjoyed.

Thank you to our sponsor, Vulcan Equipment, for its continuing support of local chefs and farmers. Our next Meet the Chef event will be Monday, December 2, with Customshop’s chef/owner Andres Kaifer. UP members, as always, will get advance notice of ticket sales with a discount. Not yet a paid UP subscriber? Sign up today for exclusive early access to our events and our ongoing independent food journalism.