Woodfire Grill Celebrates Four-year Anniversary

WOODFIRE GRILL CELEBRATES FOUR-YEAR ANNIVERSARY
"Friends of the Farmers Dinner" Featuring Regional Chef Greats

ATLANTA (May 24, 2006) - Nationally acclaimed Woodfire Grill and Chef Michael Tuohy will celebrate four years of success in Atlanta on August 15. Chef Tuohy will welcome friends
Chef Drew Van Leuvan (Spice Restaurant, Atlanta), Chef Linton Hopkins (Restaurant Eugene - Atlanta), and Chef Michael Lata (Fig, Charleston) to share the wood-burning grill for a special, five-course prix-fixe dinner beginning at 6:30 p.m. for $150 (all inclusive). Additionally, dinner guests will enjoy a champagne reception in the bar and favors from Natural Body Day Spa.

Woodfire Grill, since opening in August 2002, has been a showcase of fire-roasted cuisine. The restaurant features daily changing food and wine menus serving primarily local, organic and seasonal produce, as well as artisan cheeses, meats and eco-conscious seafood from around the country. Woodfire Grill has been featured in Wine Spectator, Food & Wine, Gourmet and Bon Appitit. The restaurant is located at 1782 Cheshire Bridge Road, Atlanta, Georgia. For reservations, call 404-347-9055 or view the website for a schedule of upcoming events: www.woodfiregrill.com.

Linton Hopkins:
Chef Linton Hopkins never dreamed that he would be a restaurateur; much less the owner and Executive Chef of a place named by Atlanta Magazine as one of the city's "Top Ten Restaurants". An Atlanta native, Linton had already graduated from Emory University and was preparing for a medical career when the culinary bug bit him. Upon graduation from the Culinary Institute of America in 1993, Hopkins worked in Mr. B's Bistro in New Orleans, The Grill Room of the Windsor Court Hotel and Washington D.C.'s Coast restaurant. He is now Executive Chef and Owner of Restaurant Eugene, which stands as an amalgamation of his past experience and continued culinary innovation. Inspired by his late grandfather, Eugene Holeman, Hopkins' Restaurant Eugene is a celebration of all things Southern, fresh, and flavorful. Since opening in 2004, Restaurant Eugene has garnered national praise from such notable publications as Esquire (John Mariani "Best New Restaurants 2004") and Gourmet ("A Place to Eat Now", October 2005) and loyal patronage from Atlanta's most discerning palates.

Michael Lata:
At Fig, executive chef and co-owner Mike Lata "specializes in creating unique dishes out of local foods," according to Betsy Guzior of the Good Life. Indeed, Lata has mastered what DeBord referred to as "the original high-low cuisine," a style that combines local ingredients with Southern and European cooking techniques. The name of this bistro is an acronym for "food is good," but according to Holly Herrick of the Post and Courier, "Fig has unequivocally proven that food here goes well beyond good, it's just plain great." Prior to opening Fig, which was named Best New Restaurant by the Charleston City Paper and was included among Gourmet's list of Where to Eat Now in 30 American Cities, Lata was best known as the executive chef at Anson, also in Charleston. His earlier career included positions at Martha's Vineyard's Black Dog Tavern, New Orleans's Becco, and Atlanta's Ciboulette.

Drew Van Leuvan:
A graduate of the Culinary Institute of America, Chef Drew Van Leuvan boasts an impressive resume, having served under the tutelage of Guenter Seeger, Timonthy Dean, Mark Dommen, Daryl Evans, Thomas Catherall, Michael Tuohy and Van Leuvan's late mentor, Jean-Louis Palladin. After heading up the culinary direction at Toast, Van Leuvan has returned to Spice Restaurant, Midtown Atlanta's hip, sexy dining destination. Throughout his career, Van Leuvan has been known for making all of his own pasta, pastries and bread and still finds time to bra