The Chef: Josh Bratton

From Staff Reports

The Chefs column highlights our local culinary masters.

They share a recipe that has a lot of meaning to them and thankfully, how to make it. (Well at least most of it, sometimes secrets must remain that.) This month’s chef is … 

Josh Bratton

Born in Epsom, England, I was kind of destined to be in the food industry. My family at the time lived in England because my father was head of quality for KFC in Great Britain. He now owns a food safety consulting business. My mother was and still is the owner of a successful small business and my older brother worked on Broadway for several years in New York and now the corporate side of Universal.

We have our roots in Kentucky so we’re good ol southern cooking people but not afraid to explore. I suppose I’m the most adventurous of the family when it comes to different/odd foods. Although I’m a certified commercial pilot I went a different path. I moved to Georgia in 2014 and got a job as a serving assistant. I figured out I had more fun in the kitchen rather than out front helping serve. After a little begging and maybe a bit of forcing, I got a chance to cook. Somehow, some way, I was able to hold my own with no professional training. 

That’s how it started. So I became a sponge for cooking knowledge. After two or three years I got a call wanting to know if I wanted to help open a restaurant at a line cook level. It was more elevated cooking working under a well established chef. I jumped at the chance. Over the course of a couple of years I worked my way from line cook to sous chef to head chef and eventually partner of the restaurant. In 2020 I decided to take a shot with the big boys in Atlanta. I ended up with one of the most known and respected restaurant groups, Castellucci Hospitality. Learning new food cultures and continuing to grow as a chef I had no intention of leaving, but I got a call from Chad and Audrey that led to a lovely offer to work with high end food, but also have a much better quality of life. 

Being a chef isn’t an easy life. And what it comes down to is the quality of ingredients and products that I enjoy the most as a chef. Work with good quality products and enhance them. The best seasoning for A5 Japanese Wagyu … just a pinch of salt. Nothing more. Let the products shine. That’s the beauty of what we sell at Cleaver and Cork. Simple, clean and beautifully delicious. 

 Simple Porchetta

• Pork Belly (I prefer skinless)
   Liberally season both sides with …
• rosemary
• thyme
• garlic
• salt/pepper
• oregano
• zest of 2-3 lemons or limes

Roll and tie belly

Roast at 300F for 4 hours.

Remove porchetta and butchers twine and chill.

Once firm enough, slice into 1” cuts and pan sear. Pair it with your favorite vegetables.