Welcome To Meehan’s – Vinings
About The Chef
Meet Branden Holte.
Born and raised in Atlanta, GA, Chef Branden Holte’s interest in food started when he was still a child, watching and helping his mother and grandparents in the kitchen. He remembers at a young age eating and enjoying the exotic foods from his family’s trips to the Caribbean and Bahamas. His wife, always eager to help in the kitchen and offer new ideas, inspired him more than anything else and suggested he attend culinary school. Soon after, he was receiving his formal education in classic French cuisine at Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts Atlanta and knee deep in cook books. Chef Holte has always believed in eating fresh organic foods and cooking with proteins other than your standard American diet of fish, beef, or chicken. Rabbit, lamb, duck, and venison have all become normal proteins to work with in his household and in his professional kitchen.
Although Branden’s first taste of the restaurant industry started at age 16, his perception of food changed in 2007 when he began working under Executive Chef Pano Karatassos at Kyma. It was here Branden began learning true culinary techniques. Branden proved capable and quickly moved up as a line cook while learning the ins and outs of Greek cuisine. After leaving Kyma, his career took him to Sia’s where he learned Creative American cuisine under the wing of Chef Richard Hattaway. He learned to cook with an array of different proteins, spices, and cooking techniques. Branden’s culinary abilities were quickly recognized and he was promoted to Sous Chef.
In 2009 Sia Miosk moved Chef Holte to the Latin influenced restaurant Mitra as Executive Chef. There Branden created Latin and Spanish dishes inspired from fresh local ingredients. Creative homemade desserts and Argentinean wine pairings accompanied his enticing menus. Eager to learn Irish cuisine Branden accepted a Sous Chef position at Meehan’s Public House Downtown in early 2010. Here he collaborated with Executive Chef Jordan Wakefield on Chef’s Menus and Beer & Wine Dinners, while learning the ways of the Meehan’s concept.
Chef Holte is currently the Executive Chef of Meehan’s Public House Vinings where he focuses on producing consistent Irish cuisine. Branden also run a Smoked Weekend Menu, Beer & Food Events, and an ever changing Chef’s Menu. He is a skilled chef, continuously looking for new foods and techniques to add variety to his dishes. Branden resides with his wife Lauren and their daughter Gwen in Atlanta. Trips to local farmers markets inspire their creativity and are more like adventures then errands for Chef Holte and his family. He feels that a home environment centered around a passion for cooking is just as important as it is in the restaurant.
