Chef Todd Richards is an award-winning chef known for his contemporary cooking style rooted in Soul and Southern cuisine. A native of Chicago and based in Atlanta since the early 1990s, Richards is a self-taught chef and two-time semifinalist for James Beard Foundation Best Chef: Southeast. Chef Todd is the chef/co-owner of Lake & Oak Neighborhood BBQ in Atlanta and previously helmed the kitchens of prestigious hotels and restaurants including White Oak Kitchen & Cocktails, The Ritz-Carlton (Atlanta, Buckhead and West Palm Beach) and the Oakroom at the Seelbach Hotel, which garnered the prestigious AAA 5 Diamond Award for restaurant excellence under his tenure. Chef Richards’ debut cookbook, SOUL: A Chef’s Culinary Evolution in 150 Recipes (TIME Inc., Meredith Corporation), was released to rave reviews in May 2018. Within the book, Chef Todd shares his personal culinary exploration of soul food. The book has been named the winner for the International Association of Culinary Professionals’ 2019 Cookbook Awards while Chef Todd is the 2019 IACP Award winning recipient in the American Cooking Category. Chef Richards is an active Board Member of Wholesome Wave Georgia SFA, and a founding council member of the Atlanta Food & Wine Festival. He resides in the Grant Park neighborhood of Atlanta with his wife, one of three sons, and beloved dog, Cinnamon.