Chef Joe Randall

Joe Randall is a fifty year veteran of the hospitality and food service industry. The depth and range of his experience and his dedication to professional excellence, have earned him the respect of professional chefs as well as restaurant managers and owners.

He is noted for his capacity to teach, guide and advise others in the practical aspects of food quality and profitable food-service operations. Randall has worked his way up through the ranks from Air Force flight line kitchens to executive chef post at a dozen restaurants, including the award-winning Cloister Restaurant in Buffalo, New York and Baltimore’s Fishmarket in Maryland.

He has owned and managed a catering firm and provided consultant services to restaurant operators. His broad experience, coupled with a talent and enthusiasm for helping others learn the craft and systems of restaurant excellence, resulted in his serving on the faculty of four schools. Chef Joe Randall’s uncle, a Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania restaurateur and caterer Richard L. Ross gave him a tease for a culinary career, he then completed apprenticeships under notable Chefs Robert W. Lee at Harrisburger Hotel and Frank E. Castelli at the Penn Harris Hotel in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. Chef Randall’s professional affiliations include the American Culinary Federation, and the American Academy of Chefs. He is Founding Board Member of the Southern Food Alliance.

Chef Joe has received many awards, including: Distinguished Service from the National Institute for the Food Service Industry; Gold, Silver and Bronze Medals for Culinary competition, the Outstanding Service Award, City of Los Angeles and the Meritorious Award for Performance and Professionalism conferred by the President of California State Polytechnic University, Pomona. In January 1992 he received the Black Men’s Forum Distinguished Award for Outstanding Contributions and Service to the Community. In February 1995 Chef Randall was awarded a Lifetime Leadership Award for his efforts to advance the culinary contribution of African-American Chefs by the Culinary Institute of America’s Black Culinary Alumni. In April 2001 Chef Randall received recognition for his outstanding contributions to southern cuisine and culture from the president and faculty of Georgia Southern University.

Chef Joe Randall, seen on HGTV, the Food Network (“The Best of Ethnic Eateries” and Best of Prix Fixe), TurnerSouth (3-Day Weekend in Savannah), and many national and local television shows. The magic of Savannah and the city’s love for good southern cooking lured Chef Randall to Georgia.