Expand / Collapse search
☰

Atlanta chef named 1 of Food & Wine's Best New Chefs of 2024

By FOX 5 Atlanta Digital Team
Published  September 11, 2024 8:30am EDT
Atlanta
FOX 5 Atlanta

The Brief

    • Atlanta chef Ericka Council is one of 13 chefs named Food & Wine's 2024 Best New Chefs.
    • Council's Bomb Biscuit business grew from a stall on the BeltLine to its own popular restaurant in Old Fourth Ward.
    • Council comes from a long line of legendary soul food chefs and grew up watching her relatives cook.

ATLANTA - Biscuits are a Southern breakfast staple, and one Atlanta chef's take on the fluffy baked good has earned her a spot on a prestigious list.

Old Fourth Ward's Bomb Biscuit owner Ericka Council was just named one of Food & Wine's 2024 Best New Chefs.

Council's biscuit business quickly grew from a stall on the BeltLine to a restaurant where fans crowd to grab one of its signature flaky treats.

The former software engineer told Good Day Atlanta that the love of cooking biscuits has been in her family for generations. Her grandmother, Mildred Cotton Council, opened the legendary soul food restaurant Mama Dip’s Country Kitchen in Chapel Hill, North Carolina more than 46 years ago.

"I just watched all the men and women both make biscuits and fried chicken," she said.

Atlanta baker's book shares love of biscuits

Erika Council, the chef behind Atlanta's Bomb Biscuits Co., is adding author to her resume with a collection of over 70 sweet and savory recipes. She shares some of her biscuits with Sharon Lawson and talks about finding her passion in baking.

As part of the honor, Council will be featured in the magazine's October issue, which will be released later this month.

"One of the true pleasures of this job is discovering a FOOD & WINE Best New Chef" Food & Wine Editor-in-Chief Hunter Lewis said. "There are now 389 Best New Chefs dating back to 1988, and the chefs who have earned the accolade have shaped cuisine in America.  From Thomas Keller and Daniel Boulud (both in the 1988 class of Best New Chefs) to Stephanie Izard (2011) and Kwame Onwuachi (2019), their influence on our food culture is undeniable. We proudly welcome the 2024 class into this legacy."

The magazine will also release a digital edition made for the new chefs.

This isn't the first big accolade Bomb Biscuits has earned. It was one of just two Georgia restaurants named in the New York Times' annual guide to America's best restaurants.

The Source

  • Information for this story came from Food & Wine and previous FOX 5 reporting.