Deborah was born and raised in Atlanta. She stayed in town for college, majoring in Hospitality Administration at Georgia State University, but after graduating, she moved to New York City. Her first job after college was at Le Parker Meridien Hotel as Room Service Assistant Manager. She moved on to Event Manager with Starr Restaurants, and then worked for Del Frisco’s Double Eagle Steakhouse in New York for six years.

In 2015, Deborah and her husband moved back to Atlanta to be closer to family. Before joining our team at Atlanta Personal Chef Service, she worked with Fifth Group Restaurants, overseeing their group dining sales team and eight Atlanta locations.

Deborah’s love of food informs her choice of career. “I love to eat everything!” she shares. “I like to be very open-minded and exploratory in my dining experiences. I think living in NYC for a decade definitely helped feed that desire.” Since moving back to Atlanta, Deborah’s favorite restaurant dish she’s had is the curry soup with tossed noodle at Food Terminal.

Deborah spends her free time with her husband and two children, usually somewhere outside, like the park, pool or mountains. She also has her Level 1 certification from the Court of Masters Sommeliers, so she enjoys learning about new wines and drinking it.

Nia grew up on the most eastern point of the Big Island of Hawaii, eating fresh fish and also produce from the family’s garden. Inspired by the culinary world, she enrolled in Cape Fear Community College where she earned her culinary degree, graduating with honors and Dean’s list status. Under the leadership of Ash Aziz, owner of Circa restaurant group, Nia sought opportunities to learn all aspects of restaurant operations. She was part of the opening of Osteria Cicchetti, Ash’s Italian concept restaurant, where she learned all stations in the kitchen. She was responsible for, among other things, the daily soups, house made gnocchi, butternut squash and mushroom raviolis. She later transitioned into the pastry department to refine her baking and pastry skills working under Executive Pastry Chef Debora Creamer. When Nia’s doing the cooking, her favorite foods to prepare are fresh fish with seasonal produce, fresh pasta, and wild game. And when she goes out to eat in Atlanta, she raves about the Iberian Pig for their unique tapas. The rabbit empanadas and wild pork sausage meatballs with manchego are her favorites!

When Nia isn’t cooking, she loves exploring the outdoors with her husband and their dog. They’ll explore nearby hiking trails or canoe on the Chattahoochee or a nearby lake. She also likes thrift shopping for antiques to repurpose into great vintage finds. When asked about her cooking, she shares “I respect the process and experience of being able to take something from nature and respectfully use it to nourish our bodies.” Her love and appreciation for food make her a strong leader on the Atlanta Personal Chef Service team.

Early in his career Tai worked at the Mint Julep Bistro in downtown Columbia, South Carolina, and later spent a year as a baker for the Charleston Place Hotel. He came to Atlanta to work with Richard Blais on his wildly successful Flip Burger concepts. Working his way up in the kitchen, Tai was eventually promoted to executive chef of the newly opening Flip Burger in Birmingham, AL. Tai cites Chef Jason McClure as the most influential chef in his career. McClure inspired Tai through his passion for food and for serving people. Under his tutelage, Tai learned molecular gastronomy, flavor building, and flavor pairing on a chemistry level.

Chef Tai loves cooking Thai food, lasagna, manicotti, vegetable tien, osso bucco, and many other dishes. He loves eating pad Thai, sushi, yakitori, tacos, fish and chips, cauliflower, burgers, and pasta. In his free time, Tai is often working out at the gym or he’s at the stove working up new meal plans. His light-hearted philosophy is, “Live hard, laugh loud, love deeply, and be yourself”

Chef Marty was born and raised in central Los Angeles in the middle of the city’s head-spinning culinary diversity, which inspired and informed his palate from a young age. An amazing dinner at chef Nancy Silverton’s seminal LA restaurant Campanile was the fuse that lit his passion to create wonderful culinary experiences and pursue a career in the field.

He began his career at Joachim Splichal’s Patina Catering Group, working on both private parties and major events such as the Oscars and the Emmys. He then became cheese monger at Joan’s On Third in LA, followed by four years with Lulu Powers Food to Flowers as Event Coordinator. After relocating to South Florida, Marty worked as head chef at Someone’s In The Kitchen Catering in Palm Beach, creating and implementing menus for both high profile events and private parties.

After two close shaves with major hurricanes, he decided to move to Atlanta in the fall of 2017, where since arrival he’s been the Chef/Kitchen Manager at Atlanta caterer Post Exchange Catering.
Marty’s favorite chefs are Louisville’s Edward Lee, who fuses his Korean roots with a New Southern sensibility, and LA’s Roy Choi, famous for his Korean/Mexican combinations.

He’s very excited to have settled in the Atlanta area, loving its mixture of big city bustle and sophistication and Southern charm and kindness. He finds the food scene here inspiring and revelatory, loving everything from Ramen at Umaido in Buford to a wonderful, creative meal at chic in town spots such as 8ARM. In addition to the Atlanta food scene, he enjoys Piedmont Park, the High Museum, and long walks with his three dogs on the Beltline.

Marty’s greatest happiness comes from providing people a consistently special dining experience. He’s truly grateful to be one of the fortunate people whose passion in life aligns with their profession. He greatly looks forward to sharing that passion with the clients of Atlanta Personal Chef Service.

Chef Keiko grew up in Greenville, South Carolina, where she learned to bake and cook with her family. Her mom taught Keiko and her brothers math skills through baking as young children, and when they were a little older, they each had to cook dinner once a week as a chore. But Keiko loved the chore, and she started asking her brothers for their spots in the weekly lineup. “I just knew it was my passion and where I could thrive in,” Keiko reflects.

Chef Keiko earned a bachelors degree before she continued her education in Paris, France, earning both a Cuisine and Pastry Diploma from Le Cordon Bleu, Paris in December 2019.

Many chefs have had an influence on Chef Keiko, especially those who she trained under at Le Cordon Bleu, Paris. She describes Chef Caussimon as “the most organized and cleanest chef that I have ever worked under. He creates the most magnificent dishes and it looks like the kitchen was never used.” She also learned from Chef Caals, who kept it light in the kitchen with his great humor, and Chef Olivier Guyon, who was Chef Keiko’s all-time favorite influence. Her experience ranges from restaurants, to catering, to front of house positions as well.

Chef Keiko enjoys making sauces, soups, fish dishes and pastas. She also has a sweet tooth, and enjoys making pastries, tarts, layered entremets, cookies and cinnamon bread.  

Keiko traveled frequently as a child which led to a love for trying different cuisines. When she’s eating out in Atlanta, she loves Flower Child. When she’s not cooking, Keiko enjoys catching up on her Bravo shows or watching movies, as well as hanging out with her boyfriend and friends, grabbing drinks or a bite to eat.

Gizzy Rawlins is a passionate Chef that is native to Atlanta, Georgia. She has been cooking in professional, fine dining kitchens for the past 10 years after graduating from Le Cordon Blue College of Culinary Arts. While developing her craft she formed valuable relationships with many Chefs in Atlanta. She worked for Kevin Rathbun, Linton Hopkins, and under the various talented Chefs at Fifth Group Restaurants. Recently, she was on Gordon Ramsay’s Hell’s Kitchen Season 18. While Ramsay’s name carries a lot of clout, she is most inspired by Chef Mossimo Bottura’s take on classic Italian cuisine. They even had caviar together in France! Gizzy focuses on local, seasonal ingredients to create technically executed and flavorful dishes in an array of cuisines that include; Southern American, Modern European, Tex Mex, Cajun, and Mexican. She loved to make and eat fresh pasta dishes and snacking on charcuterie boards with different funky cheeses. One of her favorite casual spots to dine is Food Terminal because of their specialty in Asian street food. The Grandma BBQ Pork and Garlic Bone Marrow Noodle soup are to die for. Her favorite upscale restaurant is Umi in Buckhead. She highly recommends their Omakase Menu. In her free time, you can find Gizzy tending her garden. While not a natural green thumb, she is getting better each season with the help of her father. She grows a variety of different herbs and vegetables such as; heirloom tomatoes, zephyr squash, and bell peppers. Gizzy is a fun-loving and versatile Chef who loves spreading joy through her food.

Brian grew up in the Morningside neighborhood in Atlanta. Like many of our chefs, he was first exposed to the culinary arts by his grandmother, who had a small garden and cooked classic country southern fare. “I would spend a lot of time staring over her shoulder as a child, watching her create masterful dinners from scratch,” Brian recalls. “It was inspiring to me that she would bring so many people around a table together, and the love she put in her food could be seen on their faces.”

However, Chef Brian did not originally pursue cooking as a career. Originally an art major at Georgia State University, he started as a server at The Old Spaghetti Factory simply to pay his way through college. One day they were short-handed in the kitchen, so he decided to help out, and the rest is history.

Since then, Brian has worked for both Rathbun’s and Rathbun’s Steak, as well as the Castellucci Hospitality Group, where he served as a sous chef for their Italian concept, Double Zero Napoletana. He has also worked as sous chef at Kimball House, executive chef for the Eclipse di Luna Buckhead team, and he helped open Noona Steakhouse and Oyster bar. Chef Brian then went on to work with Indigo Road, first at Oak Steakhouse in Avalon, and then as the executive chef of Donetto in West Midtown.

Chef Brian has been greatly influenced by some amazing chefs on his culinary journey. Chef Andre Gomez was the first chef that taught Brian the importance of technique and sourcing quality ingredients. He also introduced Brian to Latin American food and led him to Rathbun’s. Chef Kevin Rathbun taught Brian a great deal, but the thing that stuck most was to “take what we know works classically and just try to change one thing.” And Chef Jeffery Wall taught Brian the importance of paying attention to every detail, no waste, and the art of plating.

Even in his free time, Brian chooses cooking. “I still enjoy simply cooking for my family, especially on the grill or smoker,” he shares. Brian’s favorite Atlanta restaurant is Staplehouse. Brian joins the Atlanta Personal Chef Service team to bring healthier, restaurant style meals, to families around Atlanta.

Jessica has moved around all of her life, experiencing the culture and food of areas all over the U.S., including various parts of Florida, Virginia Beach, Biloxi and Picayune, and Seattle—not to mention both Savannah and Atlanta.

Jessica’s grandmother was her inspiration for her career choice. Despite never having been outside her own country before and not knowing the language, when her grandmother moved to the US she got a job running an elementary school kitchen. Her hard work and determination inspired her granddaughter, whom she regularly invited to join her in the kitchen.

The time in the kitchen with her grandmother paid off, and Jessica’s first job at fourteen was hosting in a restaurant. She then moved through the different “front of house” positions, as well as the bar, continuing to work while she also worked toward her associate degree. Then in 2012, she graduated from culinary school at Le Cordon Bleu in Atlanta. Her first cooking job was with Fifth Restaurant group in Atlanta at The Original El Taco, and she went on to positions with Google in Seattle and Local 11Ten in Savannah before becoming a personal chef to clients in the Florida panhandle.

Jessica’s favorite dishes to cook are the ones in which everybody joins in. “My favorite aspect of cooking is teaching and learning, and the empowerment it brings,” she shares. She hosts a monthly “gyoza party” for her friends where they each fold 10 of the Japanese dumplings and compare techniques. Chef Jessica also enjoys making elevated comfort food, such as Mexican meatloaf, mojo pork cuban sandwiches, pinchos, pancit, and lumpia.

In her free time, Jessica loves to read, play drums, go to concerts and play video games. She enjoys the direct client relationships that come with being a personal chef and is looking forward to working with families with the Atlanta Personal Chef Service team.

Chef Jacob, who works on our events team, is an Atlanta native. His father, also a chef, brought him into the culinary world at a young age, and his first job in the industry was as a cook for a Georgia Tech sorority.  Jacob also credits Chef Paul for teaching him how to be a chef.

Pork chops and steak are two of Jacob’s favorite dishes to cook, and he loves to eat a good carne asada. If he’s eating out in Atlanta, Jacob’s top pick is The Optimist. He also enjoys gardening, photography and taking care of animals.