Talent

2016, 2017, 2018, and 2019 semifinalist for the James Beard Foundation’s “Best Chef: South” award and winner of Food Network’s “Iron Chef Showdown” competition in 2017. David is Chef and Owner of Acre Restaurant and Bow & Arrow in Auburn, Alabama. David's first restaurant, Acre, highlights his self-taught skills as a farmer, forager and chef. Acre reinterprets the rich heritage of Alabama cuisine. His second restaurant, Bow & Arrow, opened in November 2018. Bow & Arrow is an interpretation of a South Texas smokehouse juxtaposed with the communal and casual dining approach of an Alabama potluck.

Named one of the 50 best chefs in New York City in 2014, by FOOD & WINE magazine, Sarah Simmons is the CEO of CITY GRIT Hospitality Group, the founder of the CITY GRIT brand and Executive Chef/Owner of Birds & Bubbles.

In 2010, she was named “America’s Home Cook Superstar” by FOOD & WINE magazine as part of its search for the nation’s best home cook. This recognition inspired her to leave the corporate world to pursue cooking full-time and focus on bringing the CITY GRIT concept to market.

Born in Beijing and raised in Queens, Shuai Wang honed his culinary skills in Manhattan before bringing his passion for food to North Charleston, SC. Inspired by his Chinese heritage, he collaborates with local farmers and fishermen. A 2016 Eater Young Guns and Best New Chef winner, his food truck Short Grain was named a Bon Appétit Top 50 Best New Restaurant. He earned a 2017 James Beard nomination and, with his wife Corrie, won StarChef Charleston Restaurateurs of 2024. He owns Jackrabbit Filly and King BBQ, both nationally recognized. Shuai is a 2024 SC Chef Ambassador and a Top Chef season 22 contestant.

Chef Aaron Hoskins started his culinary career in Richmond, VA in 2008, working his way through some of the city’s best restaurants, including Comfort and Secco Wine Bar. Aaron embraced the region’s agricultural bounty and focused on his passion for elegant and simple European cuisine, while drawing inspiration from Virginia ingredients, and his familial ties to rural Kentucky and Southern Ohio. In October of 2015, Aaron joined CGHG as the Culinary Director leading the menu development of the restaurant group’s concepts.