Whiskey After Dark York County 2024

Brittany Cochran, Stagioni

Brittany Cochran discovered her passion for food at a young age, learning how to “plow, plant, and pick” the ingredients for her family’s meals. “Nothing fancy…just simple, fresh dishes made from scratch… with lots of love,” she explains. “I call it cooking from the heart, caring about the food and the people you’re feeding. If I have a style, that would be it.” Cochran’s style was honed by her first job at the prestigious Jack Nicholas Golf Club, which she leveraged to earn a scholarship at Johnson & Wales University in Charlotte, North Carolina, where she excelled as a student. Her big break came when she was offered a position at New York City’s famed Italian spot Restaurant Marc Forgione, working under Forgione himself. It was these skills that impressed chef Bruce Moffett of Moffett Restaurant Group, who brought Cochran back to Charlotte as executive chef at Stagioni, where the loyalty of her customers is only surpassed by the loyalty of her employees.

Tyler Long, The Goodyear House

Tyler Long, a native of Charlotte, and also a graduate of Central Piedmont’s culinary program, first worked at The Asbury at the Dunhill Hotel with chef Chris Coleman. He also worked at Stoke, where he became a junior sous chef before venturing out to work in  restaurants around Charlotte. In 2019, Long joined back up with Coleman to help open The Goodyear House as one of two opening sous chefs. In the summer of 2022, Long was named chef de cuisine of GYH, and now runs day-to-day operations of the GYH kitchen, working hand in hand with company management to create a dining experience unparalleled in NoDa and on par with the best restaurants in Charlotte and North Carolina as a whole.

Jim Noble, Noble Smoke

Chef Jim Noble went to school to learn how to build things. His father built a prosperous sales pipeline for a successful furniture business, and Noble—fresh out of school with an engineering degree—was expected to follow suit by beginning his career in the furniture industry. But an undiscovered passion led him down a different path, one that brought people together around the most essential piece of furniture to any home: the table.

Noble’s path began to diverge when he cracked open a used copy of Julia Child’s Mastering the Art of French Cooking, purchased with money he earned as a bar owner. Having no formal culinary training, he gleaned what he could from Child before beginning an extensive study of Auguste Escoffier, the first chef to commit the secrets of French cuisine to paper. Over time, he cultivated his vision for a new Southern cuisine, one that seeks to preserve and renew our best traditions by applying the rigorous technique of the Old World masters.

What Noble lacked in formal training he made up for in his commitment to excellence, which in turn was driven by an even greater commitment to serve people. He opened his first restaurant in 1983 and today operates seven restaurants and culinary concepts: Rooster’s (two Charlotte locations), Noble Smoke (Charlotte), Bossy Beulah’s Chicken Shack (Charlotte), Rooster’s: A Noble Grille (Winston-Salem, North Carolina), Copain Gatherings, and The King’s Kitchen (Charlotte).

Ashley Boyd, 300 East

Ashley Boyd is chef and managing partner at Charlotte mainstay and family business 300 East. Raised in the restaurant industry, Boyd inherited “the bug” that would lead her back to the kitchen following years of study in the visual arts.

After earning a bachelor’s of fine arts from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, she pivoted, landing her first kitchen job as garde manger in a new restaurant. Over the course of eight years, stints in Chicago, Charleston, and Detroit allowed Boyd opportunities to work and learn within a series of boutique hotels, restaurants, and bakeries.

When the time came to return to Charlotte and her mother’s restaurant, Boyd filled many roles from GM to pastry chef. In September 2015, Boyd took on the pastry chef position at Heritage Food + Drink in Waxhaw, North Carolina, while continuing to oversee the dessert program at 300 East. During her two-year tenure at Heritage, the restaurant was named Best Restaurant and Boyd was named Best Pastry Chef by Charlotte Magazine, and Boyd’s dessert program was recognized by Southern Living as one of the 10 best in the South.

In 2018, Boyd took the lead on the savory side of the kitchen at 300 East, beginning a new chapter in the 38-year-old restaurant’s story. With help from managing partner Mike Poplin and under owner Catherine Coulter’s careful guidance, she has evolved the current menu and improved sourcing, increasing the seasonality and sustainability of 300 East’s offerings.

John Anderson, Anne Springs Close Greenway

John’s ethos is dedication to cultivating ideas, forging connections, and serving others with passion. Born on the outskirts of Greenville, North Carolina, John gleaned invaluable agricultural insights from his grandparents’ farming roots. Raised among four sisters and two brothers, John developed resourcefulness as a second nature. Early management roles in the food-and-beverage industry paved the way for his 2011 graduation from Johnson and Wales. Currently, as a manager overseeing fast-casual restaurants and catered events, his journey transcends culinary expertise. Beyond the restaurant, John is happily married to Lindsay, raising three young boys. He actively contributes to crafting not only menus but also vibrant cultural and community experiences at Anne Springs Close Greenway.