Linton Hopkins

Linton Hopkins is the internationally acclaimed chef and owner of Hopkins and Company. The Atlanta native is known for his deceptively simple cooking style that celebrates local produce and community-driven cuisine, with restaurants that embody his Southern heritage.

Expertise: Cheese, Southern Cuisine, Vegetable Cookery, Whole Animal Philosophy, Steaks

Experience: With deep Atlanta roots, Linton Hopkins is a graduate of Westminster and Emory University, as well as the Culinary Institute of America. In 2004, he opened his first restaurant, the now closed Atlanta mainstay Restaurant Eugene, with his wife Gina, the co-founder and co-CEO of Hopkins and Company. The duo proceeded to open Holeman and Finch Public House in 2008, followed by Holeman and Finch Bottle Shop in 2011, and two locations of H&F Burger and Hop's Chicken at Ponce City Market in 2015. In summer 2017, they opened C. Ellet's, a modern American steakhouse in The Battery Atlanta, followed by The Buttery ATL marketplace in late 2020.

In 2009, Hopkins was named one of Food & Wine's Best New Chefs and in 2012, Food & Wine named him Best of the Best. Hopkins also received the prestigious James Beard Foundation Award for Best Chef: Southeast in 2012 and was named champion of Iron Chef: Atlanta, moving on to take the silver medal on Iron Chef: America after facing Japanese chef Masaharu Morimoto.

Linton has served as President of the Southern Foodways Alliance and partnered with Michelle Obama to celebrate the First Lady's Chef's Move to Schools Initiative, and additionally supports the James Beard Women in Culinary Leadership Program.
Sliced Poached Chicken with Baby Turnips and Mushrooms
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This recipe employs a technique Hopkins often uses when cooking chicken for his family: He gently poaches an entire chicken in an herbed stock, then serves just the moist breast for dinner. You can use any combination of fresh herbs, but tarragon is especially fragrant in the broth.More Chicken RecipesRecipe from Food & Wine Best New Chefs All-Star Cookbook
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Pan-Roasted Grouper with Tomato and Butter Bean Salad
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This dish is all about my home state,” Hopkins says. The grouper represents the coast, while the creamy butter beans, tomato and dill exemplify the seasonal bounty. “It’s Georgia on a plate.Quick Fish RecipesRecipe from Food & Wine Best New Chefs All-Star Cookbook
Skillet Corn and Peppers with Cilantro-Lime Mayo
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After seeing Bobby Flay slather corn on the cob with lime butter before grilling on a cooking show, Hopkins came up with this skillet variation using kernels. To reflect the Central American influence on Southern cuisine, Hopkins adds sweet-hot Padrón peppers, but you can substitute jalapeños.More Corn RecipesRecipe from Food & Wine Best New Chefs All-Star Cookbook
Red Wine-Braised Lamb with Saffron Rice, Mint Pistou and Pickled Peaches
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Chef Linton Hopkins is a champion of Southern tradition. For this dish, he slow-braises lamb shoulder until succulent, and serves it with one of the South's favorite snacks: pickled peaches. Slideshow:  Lamb Recipes 
Oven-Baked Saffron Rice
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Chef Linton Hopkins makes this perfectly fluffy rice with Carolina Gold, a Southern heirloom variety with a golden hue. Extra-long-grain white rice works in the recipe as well. Slideshow:  Rice Pilaf Recipes 
Persian-Spiced Pickled Peaches
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These tangy pickled peaches from Atlanta chef Linton Hopkins are wonderful with all kinds of rich meat dishes. Slideshow:  Pickled Vegetables 
Mint Pistou
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Atlanta chef Linton Hopkins spikes this simple green sauce with the toasted pecans Southerners adore. It’s lovely with lamb or grilled salmon. Slideshow:  Condiments 
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Tabernacle Crush
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This light and refreshing cocktail is as reminiscent of the American South as it is of the South of France.
Sunchoke Pickle Relish
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Sunchoke relish is on every table in Georgia and South Carolina, says Linton Hopkins. “When I was a boy, I thought they were the funniest artichokes,” he recalls; in fact, they are knotty tubers with a sweet, crunchy taste.
Mint Pistou
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Atlanta chef Linton Hopkins spikes this simple green sauce with the toasted pecans Southerners adore. It’s lovely with lamb or grilled salmon. Slideshow:  Condiments 
Tabernacle Crush
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This light and refreshing cocktail is as reminiscent of the American South as it is of the South of France.
Sunchoke Pickle Relish
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Sunchoke relish is on every table in Georgia and South Carolina, says Linton Hopkins. “When I was a boy, I thought they were the funniest artichokes,” he recalls; in fact, they are knotty tubers with a sweet, crunchy taste.
Strawberry Preserves
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Linton Hopkins's secret for making his sweet strawberry preserves is simple: Use ripe berries, and cook them at the proper temperature so you don't have to add any fruit pectin as a thickener. More Strawberry Recipes
Shrimp-and-Sausage Stew
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Even though Linton Hopkins’s stew is full of shrimp and sausage, the best part is the delicate lima beans, a Southern staple.
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Shrimp-and-Smoked-Oyster Chowder
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There are several tricks to this terrific chowder from Linton Hopkins of Restaurant Eugene and Holeman and Finch Public House in Atlanta. He adds potato chunks to the broth for thickness, then pours in a little naturally low-fat buttermilk for creamy tanginess. And instead of fatty bacon, he uses smoked oysters to give the chowder a slightly woodsy flavor. Chef Coverage from F&W Editors  More Chowder Recipes
Pimiento Cheese Spread
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Holeman & Finch Public House, AtlantaChef Linton Hopkins uses locally grown pimientos, which he cans himself, in this luxurious spread, an old Southern favorite. More Southern Recipes More Party Dips
Pickled Okra
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These zippy okra pickles are terrific additions to cocktails, especially vodka martinis and Bloody Marys. The dried chiles here give the okra a slight kick; if you prefer spicier pickles, add another chile or two to each jar.Plus: Ultimate Cocktail Guide
Pan-Roasted Clams with Bacon, Bourbon and Jalapeño
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Linton Hopkins gives clams a true modern Southern spin, cooking them with smoky bacon, boozy bourbon and spicy jalapeños. Slideshow: More Linton Hopkins Recipes 
Overnight Slaw
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Linton Hopkins calls this vinegary slaw a maceration salad, because it sits overnight to develop its superbly tangy flavor. “I love mayonnaise, but for buffets, I get disturbed by having a lot of mayonnaise-heavy things sitting out in the summer sun,” he says.
Grilled Peach, Onion and Bacon Salad with Buttermilk Dressing
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The secret to this salad is using big, juicy sweet onions like the Vidalias that Linton Hopkins favors, which get nicely charred on the grill.
DCV
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Chef Linton Hopkins named this Calvados-based twist on a sidecar after the Citroën 2CV, known informally as a Deux Chevaux. Slideshow:  Classic Cocktail Recipes 
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Crab Salad with Paprika-Scallion Mayonnaise
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Marinating lump crab overnight gives it terrific flavor; combining it with a scallion-and-paprika-spiked mayonnaise makes it even more delicious.
Coffee-Cured Pulled Pork
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Linton Hopkins turns this slow-roasted pork shoulder into sliders. "Why are we so obsessed with the 30-minute meal?" he says. "I want to create a TV show called The 36-Hour Meal. The best things take a little bit of time."
Chowchow
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Chowchow, a slightly tangy Southern vegetable relish, is terrific with everything from hot dogs to corn bread and is a perfect way to preserve summer produce like bell peppers and green tomatoes. More Great Condiment Recipes
Butter Pecan Cookie and Peach Ice Cream Sandwiches
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“Ice cream sandwiches are universally popular, and everyone loves peach ice cream, too,” Linton Hopkins says. “To make this recipe really Southern, we use pecans in the crispy cookie.”
Bucatini Carbonara
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Italian carbonara is famously rich, combining pancetta or guanciale (cured pork jowl), egg yolks and cheese. At Holeman and Finch, Linton Hopkins adds his own Southern accent to the dish with house-cured pork and local eggs. More Italian American Classics
Brandied Peaches
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One of Linton Hopkins's customers loves his brandied peaches so much that she bought him enough fruit to preserve for a party of 450 people. Since the peaches are not processed in a water bath to help preserve them, it's best to store the jars in the refrigerator. More Great Peach Recipes
Aunt Julia’s Barbecue Sauce
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Linton Hopkins’s aunt Julia—“my paternal grandmother’s sister-in-law,” he says—made giant vats of this barbecue sauce on her farm in Alabama, then drove around delivering it to everyone in her extended family. Hopkins likes to spoon it over coffee-cured pork shoulder. “To have a meal in the South without roast pork is not really a meal,” he says.
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