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NEWSYOUCANEAT **■.
Now We’re Cooking
A Q&A With Chef Linton Hopkins
By Collin Kelley
I n 1997, Chef Linton Hopkins was
working as saucier in New Or
leans when he was diagnosed with
lymphoma and came to Atlanta for
treatment at Emory University. The
trip to Atlanta was a success in more
ways than one: Hopkins beat the cancer,
met his wife and culinary partner Gina,
and soon after opened his first restaurant
— the now shuttered Restaurant Eugene —
in Buckhead.
Hopkins, a James Beard Award
winning chef, is now a fixture in Atlanta
with his renowned eateries Holman &
Finch, Hop’s Chicken, H&F Burger,
forthcoming Eugene & Elizabeth’s, and
online marketplace The Buttery ATL,
but he hasn’t forgotten how his life was
touched by his battle with cancer.
At the end of 2020 Hopkins served
as an ambassador for The Great Bake, a
virtual spin on the classic bake sale, to
raise funds for The Lymphoma Research
Foundation (LRF). Hopkins is an avid
baker, so when he was approached by
LRF to be an ambassador he immediately
said, “sign me up.”
Q ■ What’s your approach to baking?
A ■ I’m kind of like Willy Wonka when
it comes to baking. I love to tinker and
see what happens. You can eat your
mistakes hot out of the oven. Just put
a little butter on top. I’m an endless
learner; I love the exploration of how
to do something. So I play around
with flours, I’ve built relationships with
millers, and even took a side-trip to visit
a mill in England where they make rye
flower.
Q ■ You participated in the LRF
charity fundraiser, but you have a
different idea about charity. Tell us
about it?
A ■ I think we need to end the
concept of charity forever. It should
be built into the business model of
how we solve things. I really believe in
this idea of being a maker. By doing
what I love to do, I can give back. So,
for example, when I buy a sandwich
the charity should be part of the price
and some of that money goes to the
charities that fix things in our world.
Q ■ With many restaurants going
through rough financial times due to
the pandemic, what’s your advice to
fellow restaurateurs?
A ■ The biggest lesson is to recognize
that you have mobility. The pandemic
has given people a taste for takeout,
delivery, and pick up, and that’s not
going away. Food and beverage is going
to last until the zombies take us, but
the structure of how food and beverage
gets to guests is going to change. I’m
a “no exit” kind of restauranteur; I’ll
keep working and tweaking it until it
works. Personally, if we have to shrink
the company down to me with a cast
iron skillet and Gina with bottle of
wine, we’ll start from scratch again.
Q ■ You’re the inaugural playlist
curator for INtown’s new Spotify
channel. How important is music in
the kitchen?
A ■ It’s crucial. I curate music for all
our restaurants, so I’ll make a list of
100 songs that help define the space.
For me, being a restaurateur is like
being a producer.
r ; \
Listen to Chef Linton
Hopkins’ IN the Mix
playlist by searching
for AtlantaINtown
V )
Stepping Up
Food rescue nonprofit Second Helpings/
By Donna Williams Lewis
hough it was hit hard in every way
by COVID-19, the Second Help
ings Atlanta food rescue organiza
tion continues to deliver.
As the pandemic gripped
Atlanta, many SHA volunteer drivers
sidelined themselves and food donors such
as corporate kitchens and event centers
fizzled as office workers transitioned to
working from home and events were
cancelled.
Meanwhile, requests for food
increased “dramatically” from SHA’s
55 partner agencies, including soup
kitchens, food pantries, shelters, after
school programs and other nonprofits
NEW RESTAURANT RADAR
Shaunya Noble's delivery-
only restaurant concept
Pastaholics operates from
a "ghost kitchen" offering up
made-from-scratch classic
spaghetti and sauce combos.
Delivery through Black and
Mobile, DoorDash, GrubHub,
UberEats, and Zifty. Menu
and orders at thepastaholics.
com.
Ha
L :
The team behind
Marlow's Tavern opens
The Woodall this
month at Westside Vil
lage with globally in
spired takes on classic
dishes and drinks. Find
out more atfacebook.
com/thewoodallatl or
@thewoodallatl on
Instagram.
AtlantalNtownPaper.com