Kevin Rathbun has been in the restaurant business for more than 30 years. Kevin began his career as a dishwasher at a local restaurant in his hometown, Kansas City, eventually working his way up to sous chef. Throughout his impressive career, Kevin has worked with several world-renowned chefs including Bradley Ogden, Emeril Lagasse and Stephen Pyles.
Atlanta residents got their first taste of the Iron Chef America winner’s take on Southwestern cuisine when Kevin opened NAVA in the late 1990s. He would later go on to introduce Fusion to Atlanta as the executive chef of Bluepointe. Since striking out on his own and opening his first Atlanta restaurant, Rathbun’s, in 2004, Kevin has continued to add flavor to the city’s culinary scene with Krog Bar, Kevin Rathbun Steak and most recently, KR SteakBar.
Kevin and his wonderful wife, Melissa, invited Midtown Lifestyle into their lovely Morningside home to experience their hand-crafted kitchen in person. Designed by Joel Kelly of Joel Kelly Designs, the indoor and outdoor kitchens feature a full suite of Viking stainless steel appliances.
Kevin—who says he doesn’t get to cook at home as often as he’d like—enjoys barbecuing when he has the time, using both gas and charcoal.
“When I was building this house, I was going to put this nice cast-iron charcoal grill in, and my wife said, ‘We can’t resell the house if you do that, so get a gas grill.'”
“So, I keep the Green Egg around all the time for charring my steaks on charcoal," he says with a laugh.
In addition to running four restaurants, the Rathbuns are actively involved in several charitable organizations around the city, including Open Hand Atlanta.
Take a sneak peek into the kitchen of one of the best chefs in the country.
XL Big Green Egg $1,149, BigGreenEgg.com
Chroma P18 by F. A. Porsche Type 301 20-centimeter chef's knife, $124.95, Amazon.com
Viking professional 4-slot toaster $799, VikingRange.com
Non-stick metal grill sheet, $14.99-$19.99, HomeDepot.com
13-inch W Viking double side burners, $1,379, VikingRange.com
Allen Brothers steaks, prices vary, AllenBrothers.com
Shun Kanso 8-inch chef’s knife $144, Shun.KaiUSALtd.com
Viking Professional 48-inch dual fuel freestanding range, $13,269 VikingRange.com
