Catching Up with Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts Atlanta Alum, Tony Sharpe
February 13, 2012
•Le Cordon Bleu
•Atlanta
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Catching Up with Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts Atlanta Alum, Tony Sharpe
So what would you expect a chef to some of the biggest names in professional sports and entertainment to be doing on a Sunday morning? Playing golf with someone from his client list that includes Super Bowl champions Rodney Harrison and Tony Jones, NFL Pro Bowler Joe Horn, and former NBA point guard Eric Snow? Good guess, but no. He certainly has the opportunity to do so, but to find Chef and Georgia culinary school superstar, Tony Sharpe, alum of Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts in Atlanta, on a Sunday morning you will have to stop into Café 458, where he will be serving brunch to hungry Atlantans.
At first that may not seem surprising. After all, chefs are a hard working bunch who usually work nights and weekends to feed their customers. But what you may not know is that Café 458 is a non-profit soup kitchen that serves the homeless, disabled, and underprivileged in Atlanta. And chef Sharp is the executive chef who brings his own interpretation of Southern cuisine to Sunday brunches at Café 458. The brunch menu is open to the public and available from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. with all proceeds going to the Atlanta Center for Self Sufficiency, an agency whose goal it is to provide a means to self sufficiency for Atlanta’s homeless.
In addition to cooking up his signature brunch dishes like Southern Comfort French toast, shrimp & crab Benedict, and chicken & waffles, Chef Tony also teaches culinary classes at the Café 458 cooking school. The goal of which is to teach marketable skills to the homeless and lead them on their way to self-sufficiency.
For Chef Tony, giving his time to a worthy cause like Café 458 is a way to give back to the community that has helped him achieve so much in his culinary and personal lives.
More About Chef Tony
After working in the Georgia culinary arts industry for 13 years, Chef Tony enrolled at Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts in Atlanta. Since graduating cooking school, he has steadily grown his client list both as a personal chef to professional athletes and entertainers and as the owner of Whole Life Catering. His passion for the culinary arts and his affection for his community led him to establish the Urban Major League Chef Association, where he works to foster opportunities for minority chefs to practice, perform, and thrive on a global scale. Watch his story.
More About Café 458
Café 458 serves as Atlanta’s only restaurant for the homeless. While it’s open to the general public for brunch and dinner, it also serves food to the homeless on weekday mornings. In contrast to classic soup kitchens, meals at Cafe 458 are provided by “reservation only” to men and women who have been referred by another social service agency. Café 458 offers its homeless guests a true dining experience just like a fine restaurant. Café 458 also provides additional services including substance abuse support groups, financial management workshops, storage space, counseling, laundry, and a mailing address for its guests.
More information can be found on their website, http://www.cafe458atl.com/.
This article is presented by Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts inAtlanta. Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts in Atlanta offers culinary arts and pâtisserie and baking training programs in the Atlanta, Georgia area. To learn more about the class offerings, please visit Chefs.edu/Atlanta for more information.
Find disclosures on graduation rates, student financial obligations and more at www.chefs.edu/disclosures. Le Cordon Bleu® and the Le Cordon Bleu logo are registered trademarks of Career Education Corporation. Le Cordon Bleu cannot guarantee employment or salary. Credits earned are unlikely to transfer.