Judges
Our judges are hand-picked and are the creme de la creme when it comes to taste buds. They are chefs, food critics and burger aficionados. Scroll down for photos and bios.
| Helmut Holzer | James Boyce | Chef Rusty | Marc Altschull |
| John McLemore | Chef Dan Harrar | Chad Smith, UPS | Maura Neill, 365 Atlanta |
| Jodie Fleischer | Herb Mesa | Billy Kramer | Bill Sonnemaker, Catalyst Fitness |
Chef Rusty
After earning his degree in Nutrition, Gourmet Chef, Restaurant Management & Sanitation, Rusty made his way to the flourishing restaurant scene in Atlanta. His Cajun and Creole infused style—echoing his heroes Justin Wilson and Paul Prudhomme—began to take shape in the diverse opportunities the city had to offer. Stints as sous chef at the 1848 House in Marietta and The Phoenix Brewing Company eventually led Rusty to the historic Atkins Park restaurant in the Virginia Highlands neighborhood. It was here that owners Kevin Drawe and Sandra & Warren Bruno gave Rusty the opportunity to reach his full potential, tripling food sales and raising the quality and notoriety of the establishment within several months.
In 2001, Rusty and business partner Kevin Drawe opened a second Atkins Park location in nearby Smyrna, offering the upscale comfort cuisine the restaurant was known for. It was here that Rusty hired songwriter Wyatt Durrette for a bartending position, who eventually introduced Rusty to Zac Brown. At the time, Zac was a regular performer at The Dixie Tavern (Wyatt’s other employer) and a mutual admiration was born between the two. Rusty soon learned that Zac’s passion for music was rivaled only by his appreciation of fine food and the culinary arts. After putting in full work weeks at Atkins Park, Rusty would spend a few days visiting Zac at his farm near Lake Oconee trading ideas & recipes late into the evenings. It was here, slow-cooking homemade meals over open fires, that the vision for the “Eat & Greet” began to take root.
Today, Rusty travels throughout the country with the Zac Brown Band, preparing and cooking meals out of a customized semi-trailer, serving his signature dishes for fans at their famous pre-show “Eat & Greets.” Attendees are treated to pork and beef tenderloin, grilled with Zac’s signature Love Sauce and Georgia Clay Rub, along with local fruits, vegetables and other farm products from the tour’s destinations, prepared in Rusty’s signature style. Chef Rusty’s hard work and infectious personality—as well as his passion for delivering the finest meals with the freshest ingredients—comes through in every meal he makes. And his growing number of fans proves that he earned every nickel he made so long ago in his mother’s kitchen.
Chef Helmut puts over 25 years of culinary excellence behind every product and service offered by Culinary Masters. He is a Certified Master Chef in both the U.S. and Europe, as well as an Austrian Master Pastry Chef. He has won multiple gold medals at international culinary competitions and has appeared as a guest chef on numerous national TV shows.
This 20-year industry veteran launched his culinary career at New York’s venerable Le Cirque, where he worked for six years under the tutelage of Daniel Boulud. While working in New York, Boyce studied at the Culinary Institute of America (CIA) in Hyde Park, graduating with top honors. In 1990, Boyce made his first trip west to The Phoenician, where he worked with Mary Elaine’s former chef de cuisine, Alex Stratta. After an initial five years with The Phoenician, he went to Caesar’s Palace in Las Vegas as chef de cuisine at Palace Court. He joined Loews Coronado Bay Resort as executive chef in 1995. While heading culinary operations for Loews, he made a name for himself as one of Southern California’s leading chefs, earning critical acclaim and a variety of awards.
With his experienced, inventive approach to the culinary arts and dynamic leadership qualities, James Boyce was tapped to be the anchor of Studio when it opened in 2003. After earning a second Mobil Five-Star award for Studio, he relocated his family to Huntsville, AL to begin new culinary endeavors with the development of his own company, Boyce Restaurant Concepts.
In 2008 he opened Cotton Row, in Downtown Historic Huntsville, featuring fine American cuisine with strong Southern influences. He also opened Pane e Vino Pizzeria, which offers rustic-chic Italian fare in a superbly artistic setting – just below Huntsville’s own Museum of Art and overlooking Big Spring Park. In December 2010, on the opposite end of the Courthouse Square, he opened Commerce Kitchen – influenced by turn of the century style and classic cuisine.
Each restaurant within the Boyce Restaurant Concepts portfolio offers guests unique tastes and experiences which combine to make Downtown Historic Huntsville, Alabama a compelling travel and dining destination.
Jimmy is regularly featured on the cooking segment of the Today show, in Martha Stewart Weddings, and on Martha Stewart Living Radio. He and his restaurants are also featured in highly acclaimed magazines from Cooking Light, and Food & Wine, to Men’s Health.
John McLemore is the co-owner and President/CEO of Masterbuilt Manufacturing, Inc. Masterbuilt manufactures indoor and outdoor consumer cooking products and automotive aftermarket accessories.
John’s passion for product sales began at the ripe old age of 8. He would load up his Red Ryder wagon with the plant stands his father made and cart them around the neighborhood, selling his wares door-to-door. This passion has carried through his entire life. Once he turned 16 and was able to drive, he took on a more formal role in sales with his father’s company. His first truck took over for the red wagon and his neighborhood route expanded throughout the southeast. When he was 19, John and his brother Don became part-owners with their father. John built a sales force for the company and expanded the brand nationwide. In 1998, John and Don became sole-owners of Masterbuilt. Since then, the brand has gone worldwide and they have established a reputation as innovators in the cooking products industry.
As a leader in the industry, John is not afraid to take risks and keep pushing himself harder. With faith in God and a lot of hard work, he continues to face challenges without fear. He has traveled the world over and learned a lot of lessons about life, and food, along the way. Everywhere he goes, he has requests for recipes, tips and secrets for his meals. Always a solution-maker, he knew it was time to share his family story and recipes in a cookbook. “Dadgum, That’s Good!” is much more than just a Southern phrase and the title of his cookbook, it’s the summation of a life’s work in creating delicious food with world-class cooking products.
John’s life is a true American success story, ripe with blessings and challenges. Through a serious on-the-job injury at age 13, two fires at Masterbuilt and many other blips along the way, he always took on life with a positive outlook and an assurance of his purpose. “Dadgum, That’s Good” shares John’s journey and opens the door to another chapter.
Chef Instructor at Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts, in Atlanta. Chef Harrar studied Classical French cuissine at the Professional Institute of Technology, Nice, France and graduated with a bachelor degree in hotel and restaurant managment from the Professional Institute of Technology, Paris France. Chef Dan Harrar has over twenty seven years of experience in the culinary industry. He has worked with Alain Ducasse in Monaco at the Hotel de Paris, Carlton Hotel in Cannes and additionally at the Savoy Hotel in London, La Tour d’Argent restaurant in Paris, the Royal Hotel in Luxembourg, and Banyan Tree Resort in the Maldives Islands. Chef Harrar was relocated to America to work for the French Embassy, and then stayed to work for Les Halles in Washington, D.C. and New York. He moved to Atlanta to work for Anis and Soleil restaurants before opening his own restaurant, Cafe de Nice.
Bill Sonnemaker, Catalyst Fitness
Bill brings 13+ years of business management and fitness training experience to Catalyst Fitness, which manifests itself itself in the personal success stories of countless clients, students and companies.
Bill is an award winning Exercise Physiologist, Personal Trainer, and Educator. He holds a Masters degree in Performance Enhancement and Injury Prevention along with advanced credentials as a Performance Enhancement Specialist, Corrective Exercise Specialist, and Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist, as well as being an IDEA® Master Trainer. Bill holds certifications through PTA Global, the National Academy of Sports Medicine (NASM), the National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA), the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) and the American Council on Exercise (ACE). He is also an Examiner for the Medical Fitness Association (MFA) and both a media representative and “Fly Solo” Mentor for the National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA). In addition, Bill has professional experience as a CDC Research Scientist and a strong academic background in Molecular Biology, Molecular Genetics, and Biochemistry. His scientific understanding of the human body, with its unique composition and chemistry, lends itself well to a logical approach to individual fitness training.
Outside of the gym, Bill is heavily involved in giving back to the community and supporting Embraced! And lastly, the staff here at Battle of the Burgers felt the need to show proof of his true beefiness :
Chef Jae Gruber, Dean of Le Cordon Bleu
Chef Jae Gruer is the Dean of Le Cordon Bleu.
Maura Neill, 365 Atlanta
Maura Neill is a REALTOR in Atlanta and has been in the real estate industry in our great city since 2001. A passionate lover of all things Atlanta, Maura is also the Creator/Editor of 365Atlanta.com, a hyper-local travel resource for newcomers and natives alike. Created with the goal of promoting local businesses, restaurants, festivals, vendors, and entrepreneurs, 365Atlanta.com has appeared on CBS Better Mornings Atlanta,in the Atlantan newsletter The Mod Life, and on Social Media Edge on Blog Talk Radio and on the Chic Perspectives radio Show. Highlighting ways to “be a tourist in your own city without feeling like a tourist,” Maura is proud to draw attention to some of Atlanta’s best-kept secrets and off-the-beaten-path locations.
Maura is also a frequent speaker across the country on social media and technology for business. She is a blogger for Inman Next and is a regular speaker at RETechSouth, CRS Sell-a-bration, the REALTORS® Association of New Mexico, the Atlanta Board of REALTORS®, as well as local Atlanta-area Chambers of Commerce, the Georgia State Fire Symposium, PINK Magazine’s “Spring Into Ownership” Conference, the Luxury Jewelers Resource Group, a Konica Minolta, among others. Maura is passionate about social media, bacon, dark beer, and shoes. She lives in Johns Creek with her dog Charlie the Wonder Beagle, her husband, Ben, and three cats who wish to remain anonymous.
Marc Atschull, Vice President of Business Risk Reporting, ING
Marc Atschull is the Vice President of Business Risk Reporting at ING. Marc oversees all aspects of the business risk profile of ING Investment Management, including risk governance (standards, policies & procedures), new product and investment mandate risk reviews, seed capital analysis, review of implicit & explicit guarantees and emerging risks (e.g., implications of Dodd-Frank Act). Marc joins the Risk Management team from the Fixed Income & Proprietary Investments team, where he has been the Chief of Staff to Christine Hurtsellers since he rejoined ING in 2008. Marc previously worked in ING US Financial Services, where he facilitated communications between the actuaries in the business units and portfolio managers in investment management. Marc’s previous experience included a stint at Pacific Life in California where he assisted in the development of the risk management team and also worked with a subsidiary focused on aircraft leasing. He also worked as a consultant with Tillinghast-Towers Perrin where he focused on the projection of asset and liability cashflows for insurance company appraisals used in mergers and acquisitions. Marc graduated from the University of Michigan with a BS in Actuarial Math and Economics. He is both a Fellow of the Society of Actuaries and a CFA charterholder.
Chad Smith, Director of Healthcare Technology Solutions, UPS
As the Healthcare Technology Solutions Director for UPS, Chad Smith is responsible for developing and executing the UPS strategy to serve the unique needs of healthcare clients, particularly where it is enabled by our information technology or systems. He is responsible for understanding the business requirements that drive our technology and system capabilities and enable us to service our clients and their customers in an efficient, effective and compliant manner. Ultimately, he also works across the UPS organization to make sure that the appropriate plans are in place for our information technology or systems to support our Enterprise Healthcare strategy and meet our client’s product and customer needs.
Smith began his UPS career in 2001 as a Project Manager in the Program Management Group. He has held positions of increasing responsibility in UPS SCS and the Healthcare Logistics Strategy Group. Prior to UPS, Smith was the Network Program Manager for Urban Media and prior to that was a Director with PMSI-Project Mentors (currently Novations Project Management). A native of Gainesville, GA, Smith received a Bachelor’s degree from Georgia Institute of Technology; received his Masters in Information Technology from American Intercontinental University and is a PMI certified Project Management Professional.
Smith is also a grill connosuer. He has been known to make everything from your typical chicken, burgers and dogs to smoked brisket & Boston Butts. Beef Jerky, and pizza. He even received publication for his Elk Backstraps which will be published in Fall of 2012. Smith was a relatively late bloomer in the area of grilling and smoking meat, but in an effort to make up for lost time, he hosts a culinary “drop in”/cookout nearly every weekend for his friends and neighbors and quite frankly never disappoints in the areas of good food, good company and good times.
Jodie Fleischer is an Emmy award winning investigative reporter, who joined the WSB-TV Channel 2 Action News team in June 2007. Jodie primarily covers stories with an emphasis on government waste and public corruption. Most recently, she exposed widespread activity by sovereign citizens operating around north Georgia which led to a dozen racketeering indictments. She also uncovered numerous errors in Fulton County property values, and investigated 911 problems in Fulton County, DeKalb County and the City of Atlanta, all of which led to improvements in service. From breaking the story on DeKalb County’s school system indictments, to catching Atlanta sanitation workers wasting time on the job, Jodie investigates a wide variety of stories.
In 2011, Jodie was awarded 5 Southeastern Regional Emmys for her investigative reporting. She’s also been honored with several Associated Press Broadcasting Awards for spot news coverage, education, and investigative reporting in Georgia, Florida and South Carolina.
Before coming to Georgia, Jodie worked at WFTV in Orlando, WSPA in Spartanburg, and WLTX in Columbia. Jodie is a native Floridian and graduated from the University of Florida with a degree in telecommunication and a minor in criminal justice. When she’s not working, she enjoys boating, wake-boarding, hiking, photography, and Gator football.
Greystripe mobile advertising salesperson by day, burger blogger by night (BillyKramer.com), Billy is unofficially the ONLY person to have eaten all 17 burgers at the inaugural Battle of the Burgers.
Billy’s marketing and sales background have been a huge help to Embraced Atlanta and the 2nd Annual Battle of the Burgers.
A special thanks goes out to David Eckoff for getting Billy involved.
