Around 3 p.m. yesterday, as many of us were still crowded under the tasting tents at the second annual Atlanta Food & Wine Festival, avoiding a downpour during the event’s one day of inclement weather, tweets started rolling in from national taste arbiters. Josh Ozersky (@OzerskyTV), a food columnist for Time magazine, wrote, “Goodbye to a great food city and the festival that brought it to the world. #afwf12 I'll never miss this one again.” Raphael Brion (@raphael_brion), national editor for Eater, said, “Atlanta is a great food town and has an equally great food fest.”

I saw these comments and felt something between pride and vindication. I heard a lot of first- and second-hand remarks this weekend about how surprised visitors are to discover the culinary riches here, and how the Atlanta Food & Wine Festival is becoming an ambassador for the city like we’ve never had ...

This summer,  in addition to the fireworks and fly balls, Turner Field is setting the table for foodies as well. On Wednesday, Braves reps told us about the debut of Big Night Out, their summer series of pre-game events for food lovers featuring celebrity chefs whipping up tasty bites in a luxury suite setting. Nine events throughout the season have been set.

Atlantan Herb Mesa, who competed on Food Network's "The Next Food Network Star" will host four of the events while Atlanta native Donna Rodriguez, host of the "Dishing with Donna Show" radio program will also host at five events. For $135 per person, foodie fans will score a cooking demonstration, seating in a luxury suite,  a dinner plate of the meal being prepared (including beer and wine) and a Green Lot parking pass. Each Big Night Out promises a flavorful take on the local cuisine of the visiting ...

Last week the team behind the forthcoming Watershed on Peachtree revealed Julia LeRoy would become the kitchen’s chef de cuisine, working alongside executive chef Joe Truex. LeRoy, a graduate of the Culinary Institute of America, has pursued a diverse cooking career: She cut her teeth at the Dining Room at the Ritz-Carlton Buckhead and Seeger’s and led the kitchen previously at the Bookhouse Pub and her short-lived LeRoy’s Fried Chicken. Just prior to her new post at Watershed, she worked as the consulting chef for the menu at Decatur’s Pinewood Tippling Room, which opens on May 15.
 
Q: What were the deciding factors in making the decision to join the Watershed team?
JL: I think one of the main reasons I wanted to join the Watershed team is because I have enormous respect for Joe’s approach to food. I would dine at Repast any time I could talk someone ...

It has been almost a year since star chef Cyrille Holota decamped from the now-closed FAB and moved, literally, across the street to helm Atlanta’s outpost of BLT Steak at the W Downtown Atlanta. Since joining BLT, the classically trained Holota, who worked at several Michelin starred restaurants before joining Joel Antunes at Joel, has added a sense of elegance to the high-end steakhouse. Holota, a native of Montluçon, France, recently completed the first of a series of boucherie (French for “butcher”) dinners, which highlighted whole-animal cookery in five-course meals. Holota recently chatted about why he has remained in Atlanta and some of his future plans for BLT Steak.

Q: With all of your international experience and reputation you could have had a top position anywhere in the world, what motivated you to stay in Atlanta after Joel closed?
CH: Atlanta is a wonderful city that can be family friendly, ...