GARY MENNIE
Executive Chef/Owner

Gary Mennie, who has been called a "New Age Soul Food" guru, is one of the country's most innovative chefs. Mennie's reinvented new American chop-house offers guests intensified flavors in a sexy, yet casual neighborhood setting.

Mennie is a graduate of the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, NY. He has trained with some of the best chefs in the business. Mennie began his training under French Master Chef, Maxime Ribera at the famed Maxime's in New York, which was a great beginning to his culinary journey. He then moved to Los Angeles to continue his training at the Mobil Five Star "L'orangerie" under Chef Jean Francoise Meteinger. Taking a different direction after his classical training, he made the move to the star-studded Spago in West Hollywood, CA. Working beside Chef Wolfgang Puck, he was exposed to a whole new cooking style using the freshest ingredients available in the United States. After a three-year tour with one of the originators of California Cuisine, he sought out continuous refinement under the tutelage of Chef Gunter Seeger. He was part of a well-noted team at the Mobil Five Star Dining Room at the Ritz-Carlton Buckhead. The next step for Mennie, a ten-year step, was his opening of Canoe in 1995. Canoe was an instant success in the Atlanta dining scene, garnering a Mobil Four Star rating, the highest of its kind in the country. His modern American style grew praise for seafood offerings and was the kitchen to go to for his well-known wild game preparations.

Mennie had a vision for a New-American Chophouse in a neighborhood setting, brought on by the opening of Taurus. Taurus features Chef Mennie's concept of "Bone-Food", meats, game and seafood roasted on the bone for more intense flavors. The simplicity of the menu keeps with his trademark style of tasty food, non-fussy, uncomplicated presentations and warm, hospitiable service.