Table & Main owner/operator Ryan Pernice and Executive chef/co-owner Ted Lahey announced that the restaurant’s new Chef de Cuisine will be Woolery “Woody” Back starting in October. Lahey will then move to open Italian restaurant, Osteria Mattone, his second venture with partner Pernice and RO Hospitality, slated to open this fall.
With a cooking style influenced by his Kentucky roots, Back began his hospitality industry career in the front of the house at a few small places around New York. Eventually, his place in front of house moved to the kitchen where he honed his interest in cooking. A move to Virginia to attend Johnson & Wales University earned him a degree in culinary arts.
Sous chef positions at spots such as Havana and Mahi Mahs fueled his love for cooking but it wasn’t until he was named chef de cuisine at Southern restaurant, Coastal Grill that he fell in love with Southern cuisine in particular. As such, he moved further south and served as sous chef with the famed Tom Collicco at Craft. Upon Craft’s closing, he joined chef Linton Hopkins team starting at Holeman and Finch, and then his most recent position as executive sous chef at Restaurant Eugene.
