Matthew Raiford, Chef, Farmer, & Author (Brunswick, GA

In coastal Georgia, Matthew Raiford grew up breaking the dirt and trading squash for sweet potatoes, raising hogs and chickens, and only going to the grocery store for staples. After a military career then graduation from the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, Matthew returned to Brunswick, GA in 2011 to continue the traditions of his Gullah-Geechee heritage and to create an authentic farm-to-fork experience for locals. He is the former executive chef of Little St. Simons Resort and was the chef owner of The Farmer and the Larder in Brunswick. Certified as an ecological horticulturist, he runs Gilliard Farms with his sister Althea, a family farm first established in 1874. They're the sixth generation to cultivate the land, and no one has ever used chemicals to grow any crops on it. His first cookbook is titled Bress 'n' Nyam: Gullah Geechee Recipes from a Sixth-Generation Farmer.