Former chef at popular Columbia restaurant will create menus for Fatz Southern Kitchen
A former chef with one of Columbia’s most popular restaurants will be creating menus for a well-known restaurant chain.
Brian Dukes, former chef at Blue Marlin in the Vista, has been hired by Fatz Southern Kitchen as culinary director. In that role, Dukes will set new menus, oversee quality and do food tastings for Fatz, which has 45 restaurants across the Southeast. He will be based in the chain’s Greenville headquarters.
Dukes, originally from Knoxville, Tennessee, graduated from Johnson & Wales culinary school before joining his uncle in the Vista Life Restaurant Group in Columbia. Dukes was the concept chef for Blue Marlin, Willy’s and Foxfire Grill restaurants along Lincoln Street. In 2007, he prepared a signature Lowcountry meal from the Blue Marlin menu at the James Beard House in New York City.
During his tenure at Blue Marlin, Dukes stressed the need for locally sourced ingredients, specifically seafood. In 2013, he backed a bill in the House, H.3297, that defined “local seafood” in the state’s food labeling regulations as being from South Carolina, North Carolina and Georgia.
“I am thrilled to work with Fatz Southern Kitchen and proud to carry on the restaurant’s tradition of bringing authentic Southern flavors into each of their dishes,” Dukes said in a news release.
Jim Mazany, CEO of Fatz, said the Fatz team “is honored to have a chef of his caliber on board; his work dovetails beautifully with our menu of fresh Southern favorites.”
Fatz was founded in Spartanburg in 1988, serving authentic Southern food and specializing in hospitality and service. There are several Fatz locations in Richland and Lexington counties. Among those, the Fatz location in Lexington underwent renovations and added new menu items such as a pimento cheese plate appetizer, fried bologna sandwiches, and Georgia pecan trout.
This story was originally published July 26, 2017 at 3:13 PM with the headline "Former chef at popular Columbia restaurant will create menus for Fatz Southern Kitchen."