ATLANTA, GA –The team at Gunshow will soon showcase the country’s most talked about chefs during its popular Hired Guns dinner series next year. On select Sunday evenings throughout 2025, well-known chefs nationwide will come to Atlanta to showcase their unique flavors and personalities alongside the revered Gunshow chefs.
Gunshow, a 2023 and 2024 MICHELIN-recommended restaurant, is known for its interactive, lively dining experience. Hired Guns was started in 2013 as an innovative way to introduce some of the country’s top chefs and showcase their unique cooking styles and personalities along with the restaurant’s featured items. Led by chef de cuisine Cody Chassar, Gunshow’s team of culinary geniuses has received rave reviews for this series with sold-out events that guests anticipate each year. Over the years, Gunshow has welcomed guest chefs such as Matt Conroy, Isabel Coss, Mason Hereford, Karen Akunowicz, Jenner Tomaska, Vishwesh Bhatt, Kelsey Barnard Clark, Vivian Howard, Joe Kindred, Kristen Kish, Niven Patel, Brian Voltaggio, Brooke Williamson and Tandy Wilson, to name a few.
The following Hired Guns guest chefs will appear in 2025:
- Jan. 26: Brian Baxter (Nashville) – As former executive chef of The Catbird Seat, Baxter showcased his culinary point of view at this award-winning restaurant, which celebrates ingredients sourced at the season's peak with an emphasis on sustainability. Named The Best Fine Dining Restaurant in Nashville for 2024 by Quality Business Awards, The Catbird Seat incorporated Baxter’s culinary and artistic passions in various flavors. Baxter was named one of Forbes’ 30 under 30 in 2016 and one of Five Southern Chefs to Watch by OpenTable in the same year.
- March 9: Jake Potashnick of Feld (Chicago) – Potashnick is Feld's owner and executive chef, a relationship-to-table restaurant in Chicago’s West Town. Feld offers a unique fine dining experience driven by extreme seasonality, constant change, evolution, and product. The ever-changing tasting menu at Feld blends Potashnick’s diverse culinary experiences and travels, current seasonal fare, and his team's creativity.
- May 4: Kevin Chrisman of Golden Hour (Asheville, North Carolina) – Chrisman serves as executive chef at Golden Hour, the wood-fired restaurant at The Radical Hotel in Asheville’s River Arts District. His culinary style stems from his love and passion for North Carolina. Much of Chrisman’s food philosophy was molded from learning about Southern Appalachian cuisine and talking with local farmers. Golden Hour’s menu is centered around the restaurant’s hearth and highlights a variety of local farms.
- June 22: Jill Mathias & Juan Casselett of Chez Nous and Malagón Mercado y Tapería (Charleston, South Carolina) – Mathias and Casselett are executive chefs and co-owners of both Chez Nous and Malagón Mercado y Tapería. Together, they meld their talents to nurture Chez Nous, serving unpretentious European comfort food through a daily changing menu of rustic dishes from Southern France, Northern Spain, and Northern Italy. At Malagón Mercado y Tapería, Casselett pulls from his heritage to create a playful menu of classic Spanish tapas showcasing authentic flavors and cooking techniques, sourcing the best produce, proteins, cheeses, and charcuterie from Spain and the Low Country.
- Sept. 14: Michael Goessman of Café Mamo (Grand Rapids, Michigan) – Chef Michael Goessman, owner of Café Mamo, grew up in a small town in Montana, where he learned the value of a good meal from his mother, a school lunch lady, and the talented home cooks around him. His culinary journey took him from local fine dining to Michelin-starred kitchens in New York City, shaping his philosophy to "cook like mom is coming over." At Café Mamo in West Michigan, Goessman celebrates community through locally sourced ingredients, supporting area farmers and showcasing the region's agricultural bounty. Known for his approachable style, Goessman blends humor and heart with every dish he creates.
- Oct. 26: Neil Zabriskie of Regards (Portland, Maine) – In 2022, Zabriskie opened Regards, serving coastal cuisine with an ever-changing menu influenced by his time growing up in Southern California and his years cooking in New York City. The seafood-forward menu takes inspiration from the nostalgic Mexican flavors he remembers during family visits to Tijuana, Mexico, including nixtamalizing and making fresh corn tortillas in-house. Tapping into his strong connections with local farmers, Zabriskie prioritizes coastal New England products in the restaurant’s shared plates.
“We will introduce a new set of exceptional chefs to our Atlanta community through this dinner party,” says Chasser. “We’re excited to present some of the country’s most talented chefs—most from the Southeast—who bring varying cuisines and different cooking styles to our kitchen.”
A pair of season tickets for the six-dinner series are $1,500. Season tickets include
- Two tickets to each of the six Hired Guns dinners
- Each dinner includes 10 courses, perfect for sharing
- Opportunities to take photos with the chefs (don’t forget cameras)
- Autographed menus after each dinner signed by Gunshow chef de cuisine Cody Chassar, the guest chef, and the Gunshow team
If season tickets do not sell out, single tickets will go on sale one month before each dinner. Tickets are available on the Red Beard Merchandise website under the Experiences tab.
