Dean Berthelot’s new title already feels very comfortable and familiar, and that’s because he’s returning to the restaurant he helped open on the Downtown Atlanta restaurant scene 12 years ago. Ray’s Restaurants is proud to announce that Berthelot has returned to helm the kitchen as executive chef of Ray’s in the City.
“Dean was an integral part of shaping the menu and fine dining experience at Ray’s in the City, and we are so happy to have him back with us,” says Ray’s Restaurants founder Ray Schoenbaum. “We know he will pick up right where he left off, delighting guests and bringing out the best in our menu and our team.”
A Louisiana native, Berthelot began his culinary career in 1991 as an apprentice to a French chef at the Royal Sonesta Hotel in New Orleans, parlaying that into a permanent position at the hotel’s fine dining restaurant, Begue’s. In 1995, Berthelot accepted his first executive chef position at New Orleans’ House of Blues, opening six restaurants for the company.
He moved to Atlanta in 2001 with The Cheesecake Factory but made his way to Ray’s on the River in 2003 as executive sous chef. Later that year, Schoenbaum tapped the chef to lead his new downtown restaurant, Ray’s in the City. Berthelot left in 2010 to serve as executive chef for the four Google facilities located around Atlanta. Five years later, he now returns to lead the culinary team at Ray’s in the City once again, with a mission to take the dining experience to new heights.
“Being a chef and working in a world-class restaurant like Ray’s in the City is a privilege,” says Berthelot. “I feel blessed for the opportunity to turn my cooking hobby into a career and to share my passion with our guests every day.”
