SHAUN DOTY
Co-Owner/Executive Chef
Chef Shaun Doty’s career has spanned the globe, but his passion lies in creating simply prepared contemporary fare in Atlanta. His extensive culinary experience is the driving force behind Bantam + Biddy, a modern southern diner featuring scratch cooking in a community setting.
Doty began his culinary career at The Grape, a bistro located on lower Greenville in Dallas, TX. After a year at the famed bistro, Doty traveled to Charleston, SC, to attend Johnson and Wales University and worked at Restaurant Million while studying the culinary arts. Upon graduation, Doty moved to Atlanta to work for two years under Chef Guenter Seeger at the Ritz-Carlton, Buckhead. Later, he pursued culinary stints throughout France and Belgium, including experience at the renowned Michelin-starred restaurants Comme Chez Soi, Restaurant Bruno, Restaurant Claude Dupont, Restaurant Barbizon and Restaurant Troisgros.
Returning to the United States, Doty worked at Mirabelle in Beaver Creek, CO, and then Savanna’s in South Hampton. He was lured back to Atlanta by Chef Seeger who placed him as the executive chef at the highly celebrated downtown eatery Mumbo Jumbo. Doty’s next project as chef/owner was the launch of MidCity Cuisine, recognized by Atlanta Magazine as Restaurant of the Year 2003. Inspired by the casually sophisticated cafes of Paris, Venice, and Turin, MidCity Cuisine won accolades in national magazines from Gourmet to Bon Appetit for modern interpretations of classic brasserie cuisine. In November of 2005, Doty and his partnership sold MidCity Cuisine and he was recruited by the Manhattan-based Restaurant Associates to be executive chef of Table 1280 at the Woodruff Arts Center. After a successful debut, Doty began to develop a new project inspired by the simple bistro fare that he originally admired at the start of his career.
In October 2006, Doty opened Shaun’s, a casual neighborhood bistro that was situated in the heart of historic Inman Park. At Shaun’s, Doty spent four years creating ingredient-driven, seasonal and creative American cuisine that earned him praise from critics and diners alike including one of John Mariani’s Esquire’s Best New Restaurants of 2006.
In May 2010, Doty founded YEAH! BURGER, an eco-friendly eatery serving customizable burger combinations in Atlanta’s West Midtown and Virginia-Highland neighborhoods. Two years later, he sold his interest in YEAH! Burger to open Bantam & Biddy at Ansley Mall in early October. The eatery serves a mixture of Southern inspired cuisine with an emphasis on freshness, gluten-free accessibility and tradition.
Doty also provides consulting services to various restaurants for menu development, staff recruitment, training, and marketing & promotional assistance.
When he’s not in the kitchen, Doty is actively involved in fundraising for causes relating to Autism and Pervasive Developmental Disorder. He is active in several local organizations and charities, including Southern Foodways Alliance, Project Open Hand, Autism Speaks and the Atlanta Community Food Bank.
