2012 Featured Chefs
Wally Joe
Executive Chef | Brushmark Restaurant
At the forefront of the culinary revolution in Mississippi and Tennessee is Wally Joe. He began his culinary education as a child growing up in the grocery store and restaurant his family owns. Although he was learning the basics of cooking from his parents as a teenager, Wally decided to pursue a degree and career in Banking and Finance from the University of Mississippi.
While in college, Wally traveled extensively during his breaks. It was during these travels that his interest in food and cooking was rekindled. His travels took him throughout the United States, Puerto Rico, and South America. He visited the finest restaurants each area had to offer. He also began to read every cookbook and food reference book available.
After graduating with a degree in business from the University of Mississippi in 1987, he returned to the family owned business to begin his career in cooking. It was during this period that he began to experiment and practice his ideas to formulate his style of cuisine. Although the family owned KC’s had been in operation since 1974, it’s success and fame rose to new heights when Wally became Chef de Cuisine in 1989. His attention to detail, cooking abilities, and an obsessive quest for quality garnered rave reviews from every major newspaper in the area. KC’s is the only restaurant in the Mid-South with a Four Star rating from the Memphis Commercial Appeal and the Jackson, MS The Clarion Ledger. It is also the only AAA 4 Diamond Award winning restaurant in the state of Mississippi.
In November of 1994, Wally became the first chef from the state of Mississippi to be invited to cook at the prestigious James Beard House in New York City. Wally has also been featured in Food Arts, Southern Living, Bon Apetit’, Esquire, Indulge, USA Today, and Chef magazine of Great Britain. He is one of twenty chefs featured in the DISCOVERY CHANNEL series, “Great Chefs of the South”. KC’s and the Joe family were also featured on the CBS series Sunday Morning in 2001. Wally was also featured on NBC Today Show . In 2003, Wally was selected after a wide search as one of the four host chefs on Turner South’s Off the Menu.
Andrew Adams
Chef de Cuisine | Brushmark Restaurant
Andrew’s career began in the kitchen of KC’s at the young age of 16, where he learned the basics of the kitchen. After working with Wally Joe for three years, he attended the Culinary Institute of America.
After graduating with honors, he worked under Jamie Shannon of Commander’s Palace, Craig Shelton at the Ryland Inn, and then returning to his roots he helped Wally Joe open his signature restaurant. Andrew now showcases his many talents as the Chef de Cuisine at the Memphis Brooks Museum of Art.