New South Restaurant Group, President, CEO since 1987
Different Drummer Publishing, President, CEO since 2001
Big Tomato, LLC, Managing Partner 2010
Real Hospitality, President, CEO 2015
Drop G Productions, CEO
St. John Patterson Properties, LLC, Managing Partner
Producer, Creator, Co-Host, Palate to Palette television program
Producer, Walter Anderson: The Extraordinary Life and Art of the Islander
University of Southern Mississippi, Bachelor of Science, Hospitality Management
Author of 13 books, including (three books with Hyperion and one with Rutledge Hill Press)
Author of a syndicated weekly newspaper column (24 years, 22+ newspapers each week)
Businesses
Crescent City Grill
Mahogany Bar
Tabella
Ed’s Burger Joint
The Midtowner
Enzo Osteria
Loblolly Bakery
Current Board Affiliations
Extra Table, founder, chairman emeritus
Institute for Southern Storytelling at Mississippi College, co-founder
Walter Anderson Museum of Art, board member
Mississippi Book Festival, founding member of the board of directors
Hattiesburg Hundred, founder, board member, chairman emeritus
Midtown Merchants Association, founder, board member, projects committee chairman
One Thing Mississippi, founder
Past Board Affiliations
Independent Restaurant Coalition, co-founder, advisory board, board of directors
Mississippi Arts Commission, (four terms), past chairman
Mississippi Restaurant Association (10-year board member), past chairman, past president
Alzheimer’s Association of Mississippi, past co-chair
Mississippi Museum of Art
Pat Harrison Waterway District (6 years), finance chairman 4 years
Special Olympics of Mississippi, board member
Hattiesburg-Forrest County Public Library, board of trustees
Edwards Street Fellowship Center
Aldersgate Mission
Lauren Rogers Museum of Art Advisory Board
Chefs for Humanity, National Chef’s Council
Mississippi Food Network
Share the Gulf, Environmental Defense Fund, Mississippi Chairman
Hattiesburg Civic Association (past president)
Mississippi Tourism Authority
Hattiesburg Convention Commission
Appointments and Honors
Winner, Southeast Regional Emmy Award, Walter Anderson: The Extraordinary Life and Art of the Islander
Entrepreneur of the Year, University of Southern Mississippi, College of Business
Pine Belt’s Small Business Leader of the Year, Area Development Partnership
Small Business Leadership Award, William Carey University
Lifetime Achievement Award, University of Southern Mississippi Hospitality Management Department
Co-Chair of Gubernatorial Inauguration 1992, 1996
Regional Chairman Barbour for Governor 2004, 2008
Katrina Commission on Recovery, Rebuilding and Renewal, tourism committee
Eta Sigma Delta International Hospitality Management Honor Society
Governor’s RESTART Committee in response to the COVID pandemic
University of Southern Mississippi Alumni Hall of Fame
Mississippi Top 40 Under 40
Leadership Mississippi
Mississippi Restaurateur of the Year, Mississippi Restaurant Association
Mississippi’s Top Chef (3 years), Mississippi Magazine
Spirit In Action Award, Forrest General Hospital,
Civic Affiliations
University of Southern Mississippi Eagle Club, Circle of Champions
Area Development Partnership
Hattiesburg Civic Association, past president
Published Works
A Southern Palate
Deep South Staples
Nobody’s Poet
Deep South Parties
My South
Southern Seasons
New South Grilling
Dispatches from My South
An Italian Palate
Fred the Red Frog
A Mississippi Palate
Walter Anderson: The Extraordinary Life and Art of the Islander
Mississippi Mornings
Media Appearances
New York Times
Wall Street Journal
PBS
Fox News
Mississippi Public Broadcasting
USA Today
The Food Network
Martha Stewart Living
The Travel Channel
National Public Radio
Turner South Network