Winner Of The Clever Ideas “cutting Edge Award” Is Chef Guenter Seeger

It was a tough decision for our judges, but the winner of the 2002 FS Exec National Conference Clever Ideas “Cutting Edge Award” in Culinary Innovation is Chef Guenter Seeger of Seeger’s in Atlanta. Seeger will be honored at the Awards dinner, Monday October 14, taking place in one of the nations top restaurants, GW Fins in New Orleans. Seeger will team-up with GW Fin’s acclaimed chef, Tenney Flynn, to prepare a mouthwatering menu for attendees and guests.

Preparing a feast fit for kings and queens, one of the industry’s most talented, Guenter Seeger, has received roaring reviews as an exquisite chef. Born in Germany, Seeger began his career in the food industry as an apprentice at the Hotel in Black Forest and Switzerland, then opening his own restaurant in Pforzheim. He became known for his haute cuisine modeled after German culinary traditions and since moving to the US, has undeniably taken American cuisine to newer heights.

After moving to the states, Seeger became Chef at the Dining Room at the Ritz Carlton Hotel in Buckhead, putting the restaurant on the map with several prestigious awards. In 1996 Seeger decided to create his own space, a masterpiece and restaurant he has always dreamt of and one that suits his exquisite taste and eye for detail. Seeger’s boasts a kitchen that is larger than the main dining room, it’s even cooled to an ideal temperature for cooking. The building is a slate-roofed, white-brick, 1920’s house in Buckhead. Bill Johnson, the designer, gave the structure a series of dining rooms on three levels.

It’s not only taste that counts these days, but it’s also a matter of the contribution one gives back to their community and their profession, which helps win awards as prestigious as the Clever Ideas “Cutting Edge Award” in Culinary Innovation.

Seeger helped develop and nourish a now flourishing culinary community. As a child growing up in his parents’ wholesale fruit and vegetable business in Germany, Seeger grew to understand how imperative fresh ingredients are to his cooking and has helped to found the local Farmers Market and the Georgia Organic Growers Association.

Each year Seeger participates in events throughout his hometown like the Taste of the Nation and charity events sponsored by Bon Appetite. Every year he unites five five-star chefs for a gala dinner at his restaurant to benefit Share Our Strength and has raised in excess of $75,000 per year.

It’s no mistake that judges, John Mariani, Esquire Magazine; David Rosengarten, The Rosengarten Report; Patricia Sharpe, Texas Monthly; and Jerry Shriver, USA Today have chosen to honor Seeger with this award.

John Mariani commented on Seeger winning the Cutting Edge Award saying, “I’m delighted to be able to honor someone who has worked very hard in his field over a number of years and has only improved with each passing year as an inspiration to other chefs in America.”