#Foodgram: Vivian Howard

Vivian Howard calls the Tarheel State home, but the chef behind Kinston, North Carolina’s Chef and the Farmer plowed her way to Atlanta’s Gunshow in October to share her talents as guest chef in chef Kevin Gillespie’s Hired Guns series. She’s on the road again on a wild food truck tour promoting her first cookbook, “Deep Run Roots.”

5Church Serves Up “Breakfast with the Beards” Family Style Brunch with James Beard Award-Winning Chefs RJ Cooper and John Currence on September 25

Wow, what a mouthful! But this Sunday at 5Church Atlanta is too huge to miss. Two James Beard Award-winning chefs, 5Church executive chef RJ Cooper and “Big Bad Breakfast” cookbook author John Currence, are coming together for "Breakfast with the Beards" on Sunday, September 25 at 1:30 p.m. For $50 per person (cocktails included), guests will partake in a three-course family style brunch featuring recipes from “Big Bad Breakfast” such as banana-pecan coffee cake, shrimp and pickled onion crepes with Mornay, chorizo migas, apple cobblers and more. Amid all the brunching, buddies Cooper and Currence will discuss life as award-winning chefs and Currence’s sure-to-be-a-crowd-pleaser cookbook, which released on Friday, September 16. Books will be available for purchase ($30) and can be signed at the event. Seats are limited; call 404-400-3669 for reservations.

5Church fans opting to brunch in the main dining room, 10 a.m.-3 p.m., can still go the “Big Bad Breakfast” route by ordering the $18 three-course prix fix menu featuring a selection of dishes from the cookbook. Dubbed “The Hangover Helper,” this hefty breakfast is sure to tame I-was-out-too-late-last-night headaches and tummy grumbles. Menu highlights include creamed “chipped” mushrooms on toast ($8); crawfish cakes with Creole mustard aioli ($8); Hillbilly Eggs Hussarde with mushrooms, smoked ham, hollandaise and red-eye gravy ($12); oyster “potpie” ($12); duck fat beignets with rye whiskey caramel sauce ($7); sausage-cinnamon rolls with caramelized Vidalia onion ice cream ($8); and Decatur Street Gutter Punk with espresso, gin, cream, absinthe, brown sugar simple syrup, egg yolk, lemon juice and a lime twist ($8). Book sale and signing available at noon for brunch guests (prior to "Breakfast with the Beards" event). As always, 5Church guests enjoy validated parking in the Colony Square parking deck. 

Taco Night Pop-Ups at Last Word featuring "Eat Mexico" September 21

Calling all taco lovers! Chef Marco Serrano presents a taste of Mexico in this month’s Taco Night Pop-Up. Serrano’s Mexico City-style street food is the real deal, and like real street food, it’s always on the move…so get yours while it’s hot! On Monday, September 21, Taco Night pops up at Last Word in the Old Fourth Ward starting at 6 p.m. on the dot! Chef Serrano partners with Chef Lesley Tellez for the evening, author of the recently released cookbook, “Eat Mexico.” While diners have the chance to order one of her recipes from the menu, Chef Tellez will be on hand to chat about her love of Mexican cuisine with copies of her book in tow. Come one, come all and grab a taco and cookbook!

Kevin Gillespie Goes Gaucho, Travels to Argentina for CNN International’s “Culinary Journeys” Airing July 3, 4 and 7

Kevin Gillespie often refers to his Georgia upbringing, affection for rustic dishes with Southern roots and his passion for pork. On CNN International’s new “Culinary Journeys” series, the Atlanta-based chef, restaurateur and cookbook author divulges that an interest in Brazilian churrascaria-style dining led to his creation of Gunshow in 2013. Gillespie follows his affection for open-flame grilling to Buenos Aires, Argentina to explore the asado grilling method, and we can all follow along when his meat-packed 30-minute episode airs in July. Take a seat and buckle in for a tantalizing trip, whether you’re an early bird or night owl, and catch the show Friday, July 3 at 11:30 a.m. and 6:30 p.m.; Saturday, July 4 at 3:30 p.m. and 8:30 p.m.; or Tuesday, July 7 at 5:30 a.m. and 11:30 p.m. Four options for those having difficulty separating from their mini, meaty vacation with Gillespie: move fast and place an order by July 1 for a Terminus City Fourth of July barbecue pack (terminuscity@gunshowatl.com or 404-380-1886), make dinner reservations at Gunshow, plan to dine at Revival -- his newest restaurant opening in Decatur later this summer, or read ”Pure Pork Awesomeness” to bone up on your pork panache. 

Pre-Order Your Signed Copy of Kevin Gillespie's "Pure Pork Awesomeness" Cookbook

Photo Credit: Angie Mosier

Hogwash to winter. Gunshow's website hints spring is squealing round the bend. The clue? Not daffodils. The pre-order link is up for signed copies of chef Kevin Gillespie's new cookbook, "Pure Pork Awesomeness," releasing March 31. In his second cookbook, Gillespie shares his unbridled passion for pork in 100 worldly recipes -- and puts you in the know on selecting, preparing and enjoying the tattooed chef's favorite meat. A few bacon-baiting examples are banoffee trifle with candied bacon and bacon popcorn. Poke around on the Gunshow website and hit the General Store tab or tap this link to reach the pre-order page. Ordering your book ($30 each) from Gunshow guarantees you'll receive a first-edition book, signed by chef Gillespie himself and shipped out to you on the release date of March 31. So purely awesome, you'll want to order at least one to give and a keeper for yourself.

#foodgram: @realgirlskitchen

Actress/singer/songwriter Haylie Duff loves to cook -- she’s the author of The Real Girl’s Kitchen blog and cookbook. She posts on Instagram, too, @realgirlskitchen.

Eat Like There's No Tomorrow

Eat Like There's No Tomorrow... that's what Chef Hands Rueffert does in his cookbook that is filled with do-able recipes using blushing peaches, lush green gardens and close-ups of glistening grilled meats. What makes Chef Hans’ Eat Like There’s No Tomorrow even more beautiful is that each purchase of the $24.95 book returns to Chef Hans to cover the expenses of his own cancer treatment and to support his young family.

In painful irony, Chef Hans returned home to Georgia from the first season of the “Next Food Network Star” to find he was in advanced stages of stomach and esophageal cancer. While fighting the cancer, Chef Hans wrote, produced and hosted “Hans Cooks the South” on PBS. Right now, Chef Hans is in M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston fighting for his life and is determined to continue in the food world he loves. Order copies of the $24.95 cookbook through Out of the Blue, a gift shop in the Georgia mountain town of Blue Ridge, owned by Hans’ dear friend Sarah. All book sales will go directly to the Ruefferts. Read more about Eat Like There’s No Tomorrow on www.hanscooks.com or on Facebook.

What Does Virginia Willis Do On A Girl's Night Out?

She shares her flair and signs Bon Appetit, Y'all at Whole Foods Markets and Harry's Farmers Market!

Virginia Willis wants to do something she loves when she snags a girl’s night out or two: talk about Southern cooking, show how it’s done, and pass on the word through her new cookbook so fellow Southern food lovers can carry out and carry on! Bon Appétit, Y’all: Recipes and Stories From Three Generations of Southern Cooking ($32.50) gathers recipes passed down from Virginia Willis’ grandmother and mother and adds plenty of Willis’ own flair as a French-trained chef, food writer, kitchen director for Martha Stewart Living Television and executive director for The Discovery Channel’s Epicurious! The cookbook is flying off the shelves, but you can catch a copy and have it signed at the following Whole Foods Market and Harry’s Farmers Market locations this week. Still struggling to find the perfect Mother's Day gift? Now's your chance, do Mom proud!

Thursday, May 8 - Whole Foods Market in Duluth-Johns Creek
If you have an hour, come from 5:30 – 6:30 p.m. for Virginia’s book signing and recipe tasting. Two hours? Join Virginia from 7 – 9 p.m. in Salud! Cooking & Lifestyle School as she prepares gougère with Georgia goat cheese, fettuccine with mushrooms and country ham, quail with red wine sauce, and peach cobbler with bourbon crème fraîche. $60 per person; includes signed copy of Bon Appétit, Y’all. Harry’s Farmers Market in Alpharetta: 1180 Upper Hembree Road; 770-664-6300. Whole Foods Market in Duluth-Johns Creek: 5945 State Bridge Road; 678-514-2400.

Wednesday, May 7 at 7 p.m. - Whole Foods Market in Sandy Springs
Saturday, May 10 at 2 p.m. - Whole Foods Market in Buckhead
Purchase Bon Appétit, Y’all and Virginia Willis will sign your copy! Whole Foods Market in Sandy Springs: 5930 Roswell Road; 404-236-0810. Whole Foods Market in Buckhead: 77 West Paces Ferry Road; 404-324-4100.