(I-Newswire) January 23, 2010 - Memphis, Tennessee (January 22, 2010) – Chef Ben Vaughn, the owner and chef of Grace Restaurant has announced that the restaurant will host its official grand opening party on Tuesday, January 26th, 2010 at 7pm. A special menu will feature farm fresh ingredients from Flora Farms, Donnel Century Farms, Downing Hollow Farms, and Tennessee Farms.
Chef Ben Vaughn, formerly of the award winning River Oaks Restaurant in Memphis, Tennessee, and a James Beard nominated chef, opened his Grace Restaurant in the late fall. Grace offers a progressive, minimalist Southern cuisine paired with French techniques. Chef Ben Vaughn will celebrate the grand opening party with five course offerings prepared by himself and Chef Wally Joe, Erling Jensen, Jason Severs, and Reni Alfonso. MacRostie wine will be paired with each course.
The cost for this dinner will be $65 per person and is limited to 55 or 60 seats sold. Chef Ben Vaughn stated that there will be a single seating at 7pm. Dining reservations can be made by calling (901)-274-8511.
Chef Ben Vaughn’s Grace Restaurant features a cozy dining room and an elegant Salon. Grace has comfortable furnishings and decor with soothing warm tones that capture the French Country style. The Salon is set with couches, antique love seats, and soft lighting.
According to Chef Ben Vaughn, the menu has been inspired from different regions of the delta. He states that prices are comparative with other upscale restaurants in Memphis. However, it is the strategy of Chef Ben Vaughn to provide his customers a higher value than other comparable restaurants, both in the quality of food and service, as well as the ambience of the dining room.
Vaughn's culinary influence originally came from the diverse cuisine of South Florida. According to Chef Ben Vaughn, he was about 15 years old when he decided to cook for a living. “It was definitely a drive. It was something I wanted to do.” A long time family friend was his first cooking influence. Chef Ben Vaughn remembers, “He would take me around as a child, to these really interesting Greek diners and restaurants in South Florida. He owned a few different ones and he would swing me back through the kitchens and I'd get to see all the stuff going on behind the scenes. It was very cool.”
Chef Ben Vaughn’s first job was at a well-known eatery in Florida called Mario's. He was sixteen years old and found himself in the kitchen, baking. Later, he was offered the opportunity to work with award winning Mark Militello as well as the Food Network's Sara Moulton. Chef Ben Vaughn was voted as one of the top 5 “Best Chefs in Memphis” and tied with Chef Wally Joe for the 2nd Place Silver winner. Chef Ben Vaughn recently garnered acclaim during his stint as chef and partner at the Memphis, Tennessee River Oaks Restaurant. In the fall of 2009 he opened Grace Restaurant Memphis, named after his daughter.
To read more about Grace Restaurant in Memphis, Tennessee and what reviewers are saying about Chef Ben Vaughn’s latest venture, visit http://www.gracememphis.com/media. Chef Ben Vaughn also posts regular updates on Grace Restaurant’s Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/pages/Memphis-TN/Grace-Restaurant Memphis/104945642883?ref=mf
Grace Restaurant Memphis
938 South Cooper Street
Memphis, TN 38104
(901)-274-8511
About Chef Ben Vaughn:
Chef Ben Vaughn remembers the first time he ever cooked. He was about eight or ten years old, and the menu consisted of pancakes. He relates, “My mom worked all the time. I made breakfast, lunch and dinner for my sister and I.” Chef Ben Vaughn learned how from the back of the box. “I think I ruined plenty of my mom's Corning ware or whatever she was using at the time.”
He relates that an old family friend was his first cooking influence. “He would take me around as a child, 12, 13 years old, to these really interesting Greek diners and restaurants in South Florida. He owned a few different ones and he would swing me back through the kitchens and I'd get to see all the stuff going on behind the scenes. It was very cool.”
The decision to become a chef was a natural one. Chef Ben Vaughn admits that he always was motivated to do something with the arts. His mother was an artist, so Chef Ben Vaughn grew up with a strong art and music influence. But his options were limited by the fact that he couldn’t sing, dance or act. According to Chef Ben Vaughn, he was about 15 years old when he decided to cook for a living. “It was definitely a drive. It was something I wanted to do.”
Chef Ben Vaughn’s first job was at a well-known eatery in Florida called Mario's. He was sixteen years old and found himself in the kitchen, baking. Later, he was offered the opportunity to work with award winning Mark Militello as well as the Food Network's Sara Moulton. He gives Sara Moulton the credit for teaching him that the key to success was to remain in the kitchen. Chef Ben Vaughn recalls her saying, “You know the chefs that open restaurants and all of a sudden you see them in the front and the back? Stay in the kitchen.”
Vaughn's culinary influence comes from the diverse cuisine of South Florida. Chef Ben Vaughn was voted as one of the top 5 “Best Chefs in Memphis” and tied with Chef Wally Joe for the 2nd Place Silver winner.
Chef Ben Vaughn garnered acclaim during his stint as chef and partner at the Memphis, Tennessee award winning River Oaks Restaurant. In the fall of 2009 he opened his own restaurant, called Grace after his daughter. Grace Restaurant serves Southern food cooked with French techniques. Soft lighting sets the mood in a cozy dining room and patrons can relax in a salon area on couches and antique love seats. Locally made art decorates the walls, and an outdoor terrace is available for dinner and cocktails.
Chef Ben Vaughn has started a blog at www.gracememphis.com and the restaurant’s Facebook page has over 1200 fans in just a few short months. Grace Restaurant is open six days a week and closed on Sundays. Chef Ben Vaughn says the Memphis restaurant will have special menus each week.
“It’s going to be a local thing, very approachable, kind of a French technique meets Southern ingredients thing,” Chef Ben Vaughn concludes. “We just want to have a good time. It’s a platform for me to cook, really. And it’ll be a very casual but nice atmosphere.
Company Contact Information
Chef Ben Vaughn
Chef Ben Vaughn
938 South Cooper
Memphis, TN
38104
Phone : 901-274-8511
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