The MeatEater crew is adding another expert to their ranks, this time as Culinary Contributor.
News of the latest personnel addition to the MeatEater, Inc. media company has arrived, and the individual is a former Top Chef contestant.
Atlanta-based Chef Kevin Gillespie will join the brand as Culinary Contributor, providing content on cooking and processing wild game.
Gillespie has racked up more than 20 years of culinary and leadership experience, including the operation of his five popular Atlanta restaurants and two appearances on Bravo's hit TV show Top Chef: his first as a contestant during season 6, and his second during season 17 on Top Chef All Stars L.A.
Angie Mosier
"You've got 'celebrity' chefs who are well-known because of how often they're on TV, and then you've got the chefs that are famous because they are the best at what they do," said MeatEater founder and Chief Creative Officer Steven Rinella. "Kevin Gillespie is one of the latter. He's one of the most original culinary minds in America and a longtime outdoorsman, so we couldn't have asked for a better fit to round out our culinary team for those who want more content about the best way to handle and prepare wild game and other wild food."
To be honest, the timing of such an addition to the MeatEater squad is ideal. The unprecedented year of 2020 saw the COVID-19 pandemic interfere with nearly every aspect of life, especially the way we acquired and prepared meals, and the way we spent our free time and socialized. The two categories of those aspects that actually saw positive increases in participation were at-home cooking and the great outdoors.
Now Gillespie can capitalize on that with the support and backing of an established hunting and fishing publishing company and lifestyle brand.
"Anyone who knows me knows that I'm an avid hunter and fisherman," said Kevin Gillespie. "If it's hunting season, you're just as likely to find me in a treestand as the kitchen. There's an unflinching integrity in the way Steve and the MeatEater crew approach food and being outdoors, at a time when the industrial pipeline of our food supply is as impersonal as it is unsustainable, cutting us off from the connection humans should have with nature."
Chef Gillespie encourages a holistic approach to hunting, cooking, and outdoor conservation practices, and one glance at his social media accounts tells you he's no stranger to the life of a sportsman.
Gillespie, a cancer survivor, offers merchandise, experiences (mostly in the form of online video classes during the last year), and home goods on his website, RedBeardMerch.com.
NEXT: MEATEATER ACQUIRES PHELPS GAME CALLS, ADDS TO THEIR FAMILY OF COMPANIES
WATCH
