Southern American celebrity chef and cookbook author Sean Brock is on a self-proclaimed mission to contribute to Southern culture, community and cuisine in lasting and impactful ways. The chef is doing exactly that in Nashville through his two recently opened restaurants that provide unmatched culinary experiences.
This July, Sean launched a "very Zen," tasting menu restaurant called June. Located in East Nashville’s McFerrin Park, the new restaurant has just 37 seats and was intentionally designed to create intimate, experimental journeys about exploring the freshest, most luxurious ingredients in novel ways. Rather than traditional courses, meals are served in what Sean refers to as “acts.” Each dinner service has five acts, composed of 18 to 20 different preparations. This long-format tasting menu with several small bites in-between courses is known as “oshinogi” in Japanese dining.
“My goal for June is to always push what's possible with Southern food and hospitality. From my perspective, a tasting menu provides an opportunity to share the best products and techniques available,” Sean declares.
He says he plans to update the June menu eight times a year, twice each season.
Literally just downstairs from June's space is sister restaurant Audrey, which Sean opened in October 2021 as his five-course flagship Music City dining establishment. For it, he says he drew inspiration from his Appalachian roots, Southern traditions, and his maternal grandmother, Audrey. (June is Audrey's middle name.) Raised in rural Virginia, he's actually been involved in the repatriation of the Southern pantry and cuisine for a couple of decades.
Audrey's menu includes selections such as strawberry gazpacho, Jimmy Red corn grits, greasy beans and Bucksnort trout. The Bar offers five distinct, new cocktails daily, which are made with only three seasonal ingredients each, sourced locally to reflect Appalachian regional tastes, such as pawpaws.
"I wanted to do more than just cook food at Audrey. I wanted to create a place that allowed our team to be healthy and happy. We strongly believe the health and happiness of our team will allow us to take better care of our guests." - Sean
Many people know Sean through his recipes. In 2010, he won the James Beard Award for Best Chef/Southeast and is a four-time finalist for Outstanding Chef, as well as a three-time finalist for Rising Star Chef. His first cookbook, Heritage, is a New York Times bestseller and winner of the 2015 American Cooking James Beard Award. In 2019, he released his second cookbook, South, which was nominated for a James Beard Award and also became a New York Times bestseller.
Sean hosted season two of the Emmy Award-winning television show Mind of a Chef, produced by Anthony Bourdain. He was featured on season six of the popular, food-centric Netflix show, Chef’s Table.
Both June and Audrey are located at 809 Meridian St.
615.988.3263
AudreyNashville.com
JuneNashville.com
Note: Southern food crusader Sean also operates in Nashville The Continental restaurant at 1000 Broadway, Suite 101, as well as Joyland, a comfort food haven, at 901 Woodland St., Suite 101.