Flavor Profile: Chef EJ Hodgeskinson
California-native EJ Hodgkinson marries his well-researched knowledge about the food industry and sustainable, organic advocacy with King + Duke’s signature bent toward old-world open-fire cooking. After graduating from Le Cordon Bleu in Austin, Texas Hodgkinson caught the attention of Bravo’s Top Chef luminary Kevin Gillespie, who was then at the helm of Atlanta’s Woodfire Grill. Hodgkinson shot up to chef de cuisine within four years at meat-centric Woodfire Grill. In 2012, Chef Ford Fry invited Hodgkinson to JCT. Kitchen & Bar, where he also served as executive chef of the destination lauded for its down-home gourmet style. In 2014, he was asked to take the helm at King + Duke which had been recently named one of best new restaurants in the country by GQ Magazine.
Hodgkinson injects the over-arching theme of responsible butchering and direct-heat cooking into the juicy, smoky menu at King + Duke – continuing to propel the restaurant into the red-hot center of Atlanta’s food scene: under his leadership, King + Duke has been named one of the top restaurants in Atlanta several times and Hodgkinson was recently awarded Springer Mountain Farms Celebrate the Chef Award for his commitments and advocacy of intelligent, sustainable practices in his restaurant.
Tomato & Burrata Salad
6 Large Heirloom Tomatoes, mix of variety and colors is best
1 pt Mixed Color Cherry Tomatoes
4 oz Baby Arugula
¾ cup Basil Pesto
4 balls Burrata (Chef suggests Maplebrook from Vermont is great)
Simple Vinaigrette to taste, the flavor of the tomatoes will determine how much you need.
Pickled Shallots for garnish
Cut the Heirloom tomatoes in to large bite size chunks.
Cut the cherry tomatoes in half.
Brush the inside of 4 salad bowls with the pesto.
Separately combine the tomatoes and arugula, and then dress with salt, fresh cracked pepper, and simple vinaigrette.
Divide the dressed tomato salad into the pesto lined salad bowls.
Top each salad with one ball of burrata.
Finish the salad by topping with pickled shallots, sea salt, fresh cracked pepper, and drizzle of great extra virgin olive oil.
