Legendary Partners of Atlanta Announces Gary Mennie as Executive Chef at The Woodruff Arts Center

We are proud to announce that Gary Mennie has joined The Woodruff Arts Center in Atlanta as Executive Chef.

Chef Mennie is a passionate innovator whose celebrated culinary career is award winning. He received his formal education at the renowned Culinary Institute of America and continued his classical training by studying under French master chef, Maxime Ribera, at Maxime's in New York. Heading west, he trained with another French master at West Hollywood's five-star legend, L'Orangerie. As the trend in California known as farm-to-table was budding, a young Mennie signed on for an intense stint at the iconic Spago, where using a wood-burning oven he began to follow a whole new set of culinary rules focusing on local products and simple preparation.

Returning to the east coast, Chef Mennie joined the kitchen of Gunter Seeger at the Mobil Five-Star Ritz Carlton Buckhead, where he continued to refine his style. In 1995, Atlanta visionary, Chef Gerry Klaskala, handpicked Gary to lead the culinary team at Canoe. During his ten-years at the restaurant, Canoe gained Mobil Four-Star status, which catapulted Chef Mennie—as one of the youngest chefs in America to receive this award—into regional stardom. In 2005, he opened Taurus and most recently served as the Executive Chef at The Livingston Restaurant at the Georgian Terrace Hotel.

Today, Chef Mennie’s newest addition to his long list of credits includes being named Executive Chef at The Woodruff Arts Center, an Atlanta icon and signature destination - an ideal match for this talented Chef. Recognized as one of the nation’s most prestigious arts centers, and the only center in the nation combining visual and performing arts, The Woodruff Arts Center is home to the Alliance Theatre, Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, High Museum of Art, and Young Audiences. Since 1968, The Woodruff Arts Center has served more than 30 million patrons and annually offers more than 3,300 performances and exhibitions. Its board selected Legendary Partners of Atlanta as its food and beverage solution provider after a lengthy and competitive review process.

Joe Bankoff, President and CEO of The Woodruff Arts Center, said “We are very excited to welcome Chef Gary Mennie to our campus as he has a proven track record of delivering extraordinary experiences for his guests’ enjoyment. We are confident he will bring the same level of excellence to all culinary endeavors at the Woodruff.”
Legendary Partners of Atlanta’s Tony Conway said, “We are thrilled to welcome Chef Gary, who has demonstrated a passion for bringing the finest cuisine to our wonderful city. He will bring a fresh new dining experience to this landmark facility and we are looking forward to welcoming him along with all of Atlanta to The Woodruff Arts Center.”

Serving twenty-one marquee performing arts centers through-out North America, Centerplate is known for its compelling food and beverage programs. “Chef Gary brings a superlative level of food and beverage expertise and passion to The Woodruff Arts Center. We are extremely excited to add Chef Mennie to this world-class facility.” said Des Hague, President and CEO of Centerplate.

Legendary Partners of Atlanta is scheduled to begin services at The Woodruff Art Center in the fall of 2010. Among its plans are a refreshed restaurant concept, enhancements to public food offerings, and offering an array of special event catering choices.

Read more about this exciting new....

Soirees Southern Events

Photos Courtesy of Nancy Jo McDaniel & Laura Stone

Photos Courtest of Lasting Impressions Photography

Photos Courtesy of Nancy Jo McDaniel

We are delighted to be featured in the Fall/Winter 2010 issue of Soirees Southern Events. The articles include our new event venue, Sutton Mill, in Clarkesville, Georgia and the gorgeous wedding of Brandon & Adrienne Worley at the Mill. We blogged about the Farm inspired Nuptials of Ashley & Garland Smith in the spring and the wedding made a perfect feature for the magazine. Visit http://www.soireessouthernevents.com/ to view the entire Fall/Winter issue of this magazine!

The Woodruff Arts Center Awards Hospitality Contract to Legendary Partners of Atlanta

A Legendary Event and Centerplate Join Forces to Deliver

Rave Reviews at Atlanta’s Premier Arts Venue

STAMFORD, CT (August 4, 2010)—Legendary Partners of Atlanta, a new collaboration between A Legendary Event, Atlanta’s foremost special events firm, and Centerplate,  the leading hospitality provider to North America’s premier entertainment venues, sports stadiums and convention centers, announced today it has been awarded the long-term contract as hospitality partner to The Woodruff Arts Center in Atlanta.

Recognized as one of the nation’s most prestigious arts centers, and the only center in the nation combining visual and performing arts, The Woodruff Arts Center is home to the Alliance Theatre, Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, High Museum of Art, and Young Audiences. Since 1968, The Woodruff Arts Center has served more than 30 million patrons and annually offers more than 3,300 performances and exhibitions. Its board selected Legendary Partners of Atlanta as its food and beverage solution provider after a lengthy and competitive review process.

“We are very excited about our new relationship with Legendary Partners of Atlanta,” says Joe Bankoff, President and CEO of The Woodruff Arts Center. “They understand our business, appreciate our mission and presented a plan to provide an unparalleled guest experience for each of our audiences.”

Viewed by Atlanta’s charitable, corporate and civic organizations as the region’s premier special events company, A Legendary Event’s Tony Conway, President and Owner states, “We are thrilled to join Centerplate in providing outstanding guest service to The Woodruff Arts Center’s audiences, and excited to deliver the level of excellence that has come to represent the Center’s programming. We are looking forward to bringing Atlanta back to The Woodruff Arts Center for its events and dining.”

Centerplate serves over 250 leading entertainment, sports and convention venues throughout North America, including twenty-one marquee performing arts centers. The company is known for its compelling food and beverage programs; in 2010 alone Centerplate served as the hospitality partner to the Super Bowl, the Winter Olympics, the NCAA Men’s Basketball Final Four, the South Beach Wine & Food Show, and the recent Nuclear Summit in Washington, D.C. “We are honored to have this opportunity to serve The Woodruff Arts Center and the city of Atlanta, and we are extremely excited to provide world-class hospitality to this world-class facility.” says Des Hague, President and CEO of Centerplate.

Legendary Partners of Atlanta is scheduled to begin service at The Woodruff Art Center in the fall of 2010. Among its plans are a refreshed restaurant concept, enhancements to public food offerings, and offering an array of special event catering choices.

This announcement follows recent Centerplate new business partnerships, including being selected as hospitality partner to the jewel of Ontario the Niagara Convention & Civic Centre in Niagara Falls, Canada and its start of operations at Tanglewood, summer home of the Boston Pops. A Legendary Event was named the 2010 Event Spotlight Recipient for Catering Company of the Year and the 2010 Catersource ACE (Achievement in Catering Excellence) Award for the Best Catering Company in the South Region.

About the Woodruff Arts Center
The Woodruff Arts Center is one of the premier cultural centers in the nation, a unique institutional model where arts institutions unite to form a collaborative and inspirational environment for the arts and education. The Woodruff Arts Center houses four renowned arts organizations: Alliance Theatre, Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, High Museum of Art, and Young Audiences. In addition to its role as a cultural beacon and hub of the Southeast, the Center serves as a critical economic, educational, and social catalyst for Atlanta and the region. For more information, visit http://www.woodruffcenter.org/.

About Centerplate

Centerplate crafts and delivers “Craveable Experiences. Raveable Results.” in 250 prominent entertainment, sports and convention venues across North America—including 21 performing arts centers. Centerplate has provided services to Art Basel Miami Beach, 15 official U.S. Presidential Inaugural Balls, 12 Super Bowls, 19 World Series, key events for the Democratic and Republican National Conventions, and the largest plated dinner in history at the Alpha Kappa Alpha Centennial Celebration. Visit the company online at http://www.centerplate.com/.

A Legendary Event’s Tony Conway Seen on Good Morning America

http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/JobClub/video/job-interview-avoid-mistakes-11312401

Tory Johnson, Good Morning America’s workplace contributor hosted an informative segment on GMA and interviewed Tony Conway, CEO of A Legendary Event, about “How to avoid mistakes in a job interview.” Tony was honored and delighted to offer insights to Tory to help job candidates learn positive ways to succeed while searching for employment. His best practice standards were featured on the show and viewed across America.