Interact with 2026 Georgia Grown Chefs Holden McKinstry, Vice Steak Bar and Taylor Mead, Atlanta Botanical Garden alongside a Georgia beef producer or apple farmer as you enjoy four tasting courses with wine in the Edible Garden Outdoor Kitchen.
The Edible Garden Outdoor Kitchen fosters plant-to-plate connections, provides learning opportunities in seasonal eating and sustainable cultivation, and highlights the important relationships between local chefs and growers. In keeping with this, we proudly present the Georgia Grown Dinner Series.
As a unique collaboration with the Georgia Department of Agriculture, each dinner in the series is presented by a Georgia Grown Chef and focuses on one or two of Georgia’s important crops or agricultural categories. As an added bonus, each dinner features a local farmer who can explain a little more about farming in Georgia and answer your questions. Interact with the chef-grower team as you enjoy four tasting courses with wine in the Edible Garden Outdoor Kitchen.
Schedule: Thursday, September 24
Time: 6:30 – 8:30 p.m.
Fee: $100 (Member ($95)
Instructor: Holden McKinstry, Vice Steak Bar & Taylor Mead, Atlanta Botanical Garden
Registration Opens: August. 10
About Holden McKinstry
Holden was born and raised in Houston. He developed a love of food at a young age by cooking with his mom and grandmother, Adelle and Barb. Growing up in Texas, he would grow to love the art of wood-fired cooking. Whether it was low-and-slow smoked briskets at traditional Texas barbecue joints, carne asada cooked in an old oil-barrel grill on the side of the road, or peach cobbler baked in a Dutch oven over the embers of a dying campfire during his Boy Scouts days, fire and food seemed a natural connection in his mind.
In 2020, Holden moved to Atlanta and began working at Bold Monk Brewing and White Oak Kitchen and Cocktails, his first true experiences in fine dining. The next year, he met chef Nick Leahy at Nick’s Westside and, after working as a line cook, was promoted to sous chef and eventually chef de cuisine. During his time at Nick’s, Holden came to appreciate the value of using seasonal and local ingredients while also learning many of the classic European cooking techniques for which Leahy is known.
After Nick’s Westside closed in December 2023, Holden continued working with Leahy as they began opening Vice Restaurant Group. In July 2025, the group’s flagship restaurant, Vice Steak Bar, opened, where Holden is the executive chef.
Outside of his work at Vice, Holden plans to open his first pop-up, Chenna, with his longtime friend and former line-cooking mate Jake Farquarson. Chenna will feature a tapas-style menu with a focus on wood-fired cooking and baking. The two plan to hold their first pop-up at the end of 2026.
Besides cooking, Holden enjoys golfing, traveling and spending time with his girlfriend, Cori.
About Taylor Mead
Taylor has always had a passion for food and nature that easily translated to a love for cooking. She is self-taught and inspired by several cooks, including Alice Waters, Edna Lewis, Julia Child and her homesteading great-grandmother. In her mission to educate and empower others to cook for themselves, she started a small business, Better Off Fed, where she sells spice blends. Her cooking focuses on local ingredients to highlight the beauty of each season. With an interest in food sovereignty, she keeps a small flock of backyard chickens, a seasonal vegetable garden and a few fruiting perennials. She believes in the power and joy of nourishing ourselves, our communities and our planet with good food and sustainable agricultural practices.