According to a 2007 story by former Atlanta Journal-Constitution dining critic Susan Puckett, Roberts honed his appreciation for barbecue, greens and other Southern classics by participating in his annual church barbecue fund-raiser and mastering the art of the Lowcountry boil and oyster roast while attending college in Spartanburg, South Carolina.
“Food was always great, but the time spent together creating these feasts was what it was really about,” he told Puckett.
After studying pre-med and computer science, he started his culinary career in fine dining in the early ‘90s at the Dining Room at the Ritz-Carlton Buckhead under famed chef Gunter Seeger. He later spent time at several now-shuttered Atlanta institutions including Mumbo Jumbo and Brasserie Le Coze. He also worked in restaurant consulting and brokering organic vegetables.
Shaun Doty, who owns Bantam + Biddy and previously co-owned eateries including the Federal and Best Sandwich Shop, said he developed “a lifelong bond” working with Roberts at the Ritz and Mumbo Jumbo, along with a group of other chefs in the Ritz kitchen.
Doty said Roberts took him under his wing when he first arrived at the Ritz as an intern