Pig Tattoos

    Like a sailor recording the names of his lovers as he drifts from port to port, it has become common, if not expected, for today’s chef to illustrate his body with favorite ingredients that pass through his kitchen. Pork dominates Atlanta’s menus, so it should be no surprise to find pigs adorning the tattooed arms of our restaurant cooks. As we called restaurants, asking chefs if they might happen to have a pig tattoo, they often answered, “Of course I do.” If this sounds rather macho and male-dominated, consider the reaction from Julia LeRoy, chef de cuisine at Watershed on Peachtree, who replied, “Nope. My career would probably be a lot further along if I did, though.” From our November 2012 issue (tattoo precedes face).