Chef Matt Cohen, President and owner of The New South Café, raised over $12,000 in direct donations this year through his “Cooking for Charity” series. The New South Café fundraisers supported many local non-profit organizations such as Greenbriar Orphanage, A Working Woman in Need, Old Savannah City Mission and the local chapter of the USO.
Chef Matt is extremely passionate about giving back to the community. “The New South Cafe has been so blessed with the warm welcome the community has given to us that we feel it is not only our privilege, but also our responsibility to give back,” he said.
Furthermore, in the year of 2007 Chef Matt donated his time and talent for charity at many non-profit events around town, such as the March of Dimes fundraiser, the Second Harvest Chef’s Table, and Chocoholic Frolic, contributing over $30,000 through all of his charitable efforts.
“We are not interested in any accolades or recognition,” said Matt, “we just want to do the best that we can to help those that are less fortunate than we are, and to show everyone that the little guy can make a big difference.” Chef Matt hopes that this community-mindedness may inspire some of the bigger guys “to do a little more.”
A fifth generation Savannah native, Chef Matt Cohen is a culinary expert who has worked in big name restaurants throughout New York and Atlanta. His partner, Vice President and Executive Chef Scott Gordon, worked in Florida for the world famous Chef Norman Van Aken, founder of a visionary way of cooking known as “New World Cuisine,” for many years. Both are graduates of the prestigious Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, New York, one of the top rated culinary schools in the world
Founded in 2006, The New South Café offers comfort food gourmet style, matching your appetite for a new culinary experience with your hunger for the authentic food of the south. Chef Matt prides himself in breaking the stigma commonly placed on southern style food, offering a young and fresh perspective on old southern favorites. Their menu showcases Georgia’s finest food ingredients, from wild shrimp to Vidalia onions.
The New South Café is open Tuesday through Saturday, serving lunch from 11 a.m. to3 p.m. and dinner from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. The New South Café Express Café, a new addition to the restaurant, allows the guest to dine in and get out in about thirty minutes. Plates off of the express menu are $10 and include a biscuit and sweet tea. The New South Café offers upscale catering services available in-flight, for corporate events, conventions, executive lunches, private parties, weddings, receptions and bar mitzvahs. For more information on The New South Café, visit www.thenewsouthcafe.com or call 912-233-7558.