ANZACC is proud to Honor...
Pano I. Karatassos
 Pano
I. Karatassos, executive chef of Kyma, Atlanta’s most
exciting Greek restaurant concept, has an inherent
passion for food. A celebrated young talent in the
culinary industry, Pano has made significant
contributions to his family’s business, Buckhead Life
Restaurant Group - founded by his father I. Pano
Karatassos – and to fine dining throughout the country.
Training under three of America’s best chefs and at the
renowned Culinary Institute of America, his culinary
journey has come full circle – with a return to his
roots in Atlanta’s fine dining scene.
Prior to assuming the role of Executive Chef at Kyma and
leadership within Buckhead Life Restaurant Group, Pano
worked at prestigious restaurants around the country. He
spent one year as Saucier under Chef Thomas Keller at
the Mobil 5-Star French Laundry in Napa Valley and two
years as Saucier under Chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten at
The New York Times 4-Star Jean-Georges in New York city.
He also spent two and a half years at The New York Times
4-Star Le Bernardin in New York, where he did his
culinary externship and then continued after graduation.
Under Chef Eric Ripert at Le Bernadin, Pano completed
every kitchen station and finished as Tournant.
Even before his training in New York and California,
Pano cooked at his father’s Atlanta restaurants since he
was 16. From Pano’s & Paul’s to The Fish Market at Lenox
to 103 West, Pano learned the basic fundamentals of
cooking.
Pano graduated from The Culinary Institute of America in
Hyde Park, New York in 1996, and from Florida
International University (FIU) in 1993 with a degree in
Hospitality Management, following coursework at Florida
State University.
Pano led the menu development for Kyma, where he
features the best of Greek cuisine from a variety of
regions. He describes his personal style of cooking as
one with a love for French fundamentals using a clean
technique with spices, acidity, and finesse.
Kyma, which means “wave” in Greek opened in December
2001. In a short time, Chef Pano’s cooking has garnered
much attention for the restaurant. Kyma was named one of
the top 20 restaurants in the country by Esquire in 2002
and has been featured in Wine Spectator, Cooking Light,
Gourmet and In Style magazines. Diane Kochilas, noted
author of Greek cookbooks and celebrated food critic /
television host in Greece, visited Kyma to cook with
Chef Pano in 2002. Following her visit, she featured the
restaurant in Ta Nea, the largest national Greek
newspaper, as well as Odyssey, a national Greek
magazine. “Kyma has surely brought a new wave to the
Greek restaurant business in the United States,” she
wrote in Ta Nea. “It is the first high cuisine Greek
restaurant in Atlanta and has become a pioneer on the
local culinary map.”
Kyma, which is the twelfth restaurant within Buckhead
Life Restaurant Group, is an upscale Greek restaurant
featuring contemporary and traditional Greek food, with
special emphasis on seafood from the Aegean Sea. Kyma’s
sister restaurants include Pano’s & Paul’s, 103 West,
Buckhead Diner, Chops / Lobster Bar, Pricci, Veni Vidi
Vici, Atlanta Fish Market, Corner Café / Buckhead Bread
Company, Nava and Bluepointe.
Pano and his wife, Angela, reside in Buckhead with their
sons, Pano and Lucas and are expecting a daughter,
Sophia, to arrive in spring of 2007. Angela is the
daughter of Gail and Kim King, the late Atlanta real
estate developer who was also the popular Georgia Tech
football announcer and Georgia Tech Hall of Fame
quarterback.
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