Gerry Garvin, better known as G. Garvin, has joined the Atlanta Hawks and State Farm Arena as the new chief culinary officer.
Garvin is an Atlanta native and at age 16 became the youngest line cook at The Ritz Carlton in Downtown Atlanta. He has authored many cookbooks, including “Turn Up the Heat with G. Garvin,” and also has a television show on the Food Network called “Road Trip with G. Garvin.”
“As a kid growing up in Atlanta taking the Marta across the city for school and work, it was a real treat to get to watch the Hawks play on the occasional downtime,” Garvin said in a press release. “Then we’d all go out to play basketball at the neighborhood hoop pretending to be your favorite player. As a kid I wasn’t afraid to dream bigger than what was the norm for us because I believed that if I could dream it, I could achieve it- but I could never have dreamed of something like this.”
Garvin will be teaming up with Levy, the hospitality partner of State Farm Arena, to oversee the food experience throughout the venue. According to the release, Garvin’s experience in the restaurant industry includes working as the dining room sous chef at Atlanta’s now closed Veni Vidi Vici and at Pricci in Buckhead. He was the executive chef at Morton’s The Steakhouse and Kass Wine Bar & Restaurant in Los Angeles, and is the co-founder and executive chef of LowCountry Restaurants.
“Chef G. Garvin is a True to Atlanta success story,” said Hawks and State Farm Arena Chief Executive Officer Steve Koonin in the release. “He has such an incredible passion for food, people, and the city of Atlanta having grown up here. He was the ideal person to partner with, and we are excited about what he will offer our fans with his culinary experience, connections within the industry and expertise in hospitality.”