“Top Chef” judge Hugh Acheson, who will be signing copies of his new cookbook Sunday at Terrain at Styer's, has a wide-ranging culinary background.
The native Canadian learned the fundamentals of French techniques in Ottawa and worked with famed chef Gary Danko in San Francisco, but the soul of the chef’s cooking is rooted in regional American southern cuisine.
Acheson, well known to diners in Athens, Ga., for his critically-acclaimed eatery Five and Ten, branched out into Mediterranean flavors at the National, the restaurant he opened in 2007.
Later came Gosford, his Athens wine store, and Empire State South, his latest restaurant in Atlanta.
Well-respected chef Frank Stitt has called Acheson “the future of Southern cooking.”
Bertis Downs, the manager of R.E.M., is such a fan, he wrote the introduction of Acheson’s new cookbook “A New Turn in the South: Southern Flavors Reinvented for Your Kitchen” (Clarkson Potter, 2011).
“Hugh’s menus, like his restaurants and this cookbook, are a lot like Hugh: ever-changing yet consistent, with nuances and surprising flourishes, intense yet laid back, simple yet serious, never stuffy or pretentious or fussy,” Downs wrote.
While Acheson has graced the cover of Food & Wine and has been recognized by the James Beard Foundation for his innovative cuisine, he has probably gained the most national exposure as a competitor on the Bravo TV series “Top Chef Masters”.
His quick wit and trained palate also earned him a spot as a judge this season on Bravo’s “Top Chef Texas,” currently airing new episodes Wednesdays at 10 p.m.
Acheson is signing copies of his cookbook Sunday and offering samples of his food from 1 to 3 p.m. at Terrain at Styer's, 914 Baltimore Pike in Glen Mills, Pa. (Hint, hint: This could be a very cool holiday gift for your favorite home cook.)
The free event is open to the public. Books will be available for purchase. Call (610) 459-2400.