Watch Linton Hopkins On Imbibe & Inspire

Over at Imbibe & Inspire, Stephen Torres interviews chef Linton Hopkins of Restaurant Eugene and Holeman & Finch Public House. They share a glass of 20 year old Pappy Van Winkle bourbon, "the pride of Kentucky," and discuss Atlanta's burgeoning chef/owner culture, how focusing on fresh can save the corporate food machine ("big is not bad"), and where chefs need to step in to clean up on Capitol Hill. On the chef's kitchen responsibilities, Hopkins notes, "There's no way to humanely kill a chicken. It ain't pretty"—ergo, he's not gonna overcook meat, ever. Other topics on which the "father, husband, chef, restaurateur, and old hippie" waxes philosophical: Escoffier, inspiration, television cooking shows, the best meals he's ever eaten, and a personal motto: "Success is joyful, eternal dissatisfaction." That's deep, chef. Deep.

· Imbibe & Inspire [Official Site]