Atlanta native and “Top Chef: Las Vegas” contestant Eli Kirshtein is chef/partner of The Luminary at Krog Street Market. Equal parts avid sports fan and accomplished chef, Kirshtein is a proud Atlantan and food anthropologist.

Kirshtein first tested his culinary chops at the age of 16, working as a protégé in the kitchens of Chefs Kevin Rathbun and Richard Blais. With an insatiable appetite for learning and advancing his experiences, Kirshtein sharpened his skills with stages at several acclaimed restaurants in NYC and at JOËL in Atlanta while completing his formal training at The Culinary Institute of America. After graduation, Kirshtein teamed up with Richard Blais at ONE. midtown kitchen before moving to Miami to work at Karu & Y. In 2007 he returned to Atlanta as the executive chef at Eno Restaurant and Wine Bar, from which he would take a brief hiatus to participate as a contestant on “Top Chef: Las Vegas.”

As a chef, Kirshtein has been featured in The New York Times, The Atlanta Journal Constitution, Food & Wine Magazine and even a special-edition issue of Marvel Comics’ Spider-Man series. He has served on the culinary counsel for the Atlanta Food & Wine Festival, is a member of the Southern Foodways Alliance and The Culinary Council of The Piedmont Park Conservancy. Kirshtein is also a proud supporter of the Atlanta Jewish Federation and Birthright Israel‎. Outside the kitchen, Kirshtein is a part-time sports writer and full-time SEC enthusiast.

In August 2014, Kirshtein brought his distinct style, perspective and technique to Atlanta’s highly anticipated Krog Street Market with the opening of his first restaurant, The Luminary. Voted the “So Hot Right Now” restaurant in Eater Atlanta’s annual awards, the French-American brasserie with regional influences features a classically inspired menu, large raw bar, craft beer and cocktail program, and 400-square-foot patio space.

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 CITY GRIT Culinary Salon and Executive Chef/Owner of Birds & Bubbles, a full-service restaurant in Manhattan’s Lower East Side.

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.

Since opening CITY GRIT in September 2011, Sarah has been recognized as an influencer and tastemaker in the industry and acknowledged for both her culinary and business talent. In 2012, she was once again recognized by Food & Wine magazine as one of “America’s Best New Cooks” alongside nine other chefs including Mike Solomonov and Alex Stupak.

In 2013, she was recognized by the Charleston Wine + Food Festival as a “New & Notable” chef, and was named one of the “100 Most Creative People in Business” by Fast Company magazine, which called her “the chef cooking up the most exciting dining experience in New York.”

CITY GRIT continues to be recognized as “One of the Most Innovative Restaurants in the Country” (Zagat in 2014) and Sarah’s first full-service concept, Birds & Bubbles, opened last year earning her numerous accolades including three stars from Time Out NY and two stars from Adam Platt, New York Magazine’s extremely discerning food critic.

In October of 2015, Simmons returned to her Carolina roots to open Rise Gourmet Goods & Bakeshop, a “southern boulangerie” serving artisanal breads, pastries, sweets, and gourmet goods in Columbia’s Five Points Neighborhood.