The crowd was a blur under the lights, and the clapping and cheering sounded as though it were underwater. His team was holding the plaque. This was it. He had made it.
Keith Pattrick Hyche, sous chef at Atlanta’s Michelin-starred restaurant, Atlas, says he vividly remembers being on stage when the restaurant won its first star last year. Getting to this point was no cakewalk, especially for a Black chef in fine dining, Hyche says. His career took years to build, one that started with an ad for a dishwasher job on Craigslist.
Hyche is an Atlanta native. He was born in Lithonia, Georgia, and spent most of his life between South and East Atlanta. He graduated from Riverdale Middle and High School. In 2016, Hyche was running security for musicians and DJs around the city.
“I wanted to make sure I made it home every day for my kids,” says Hyche. “You have to be there for your children, without having to risk your life.”
The dangers and unpredictability of the job left him looking for a way out. One day, Hyche found a job listing on Craigslist for a dishwasher position at the St. Regis hotel in Buckhead. Without formal experience or culinary training, he rolled the dice.
“That day turned into a career for me,” says Hyche.
Chef Christopher Grossman, who was at Atlas in the St. Regis then, and is now the executive chef and operating partner at the Chastain, hired Hyche. Over the years, Hyche did prep work in the kitchen, and went from dishwasher to entremetier (the person in charge of vegetables, soups, and…
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