Larkin A. Grisanti

Larkin A. Grisanti is the general manager of the Frank Grisanti fine dining restaurant at Embassy Suites and vice-president of Foodline Services, Inc., assisting his father, Frank, in product development of Italian marinara and meat sauces for the Retail Food Division under the Grisanti name.

Larkin also is known for his wine expertise. He developed the wine list at Embassy Suites, which has garnered multiple Wine Spectator magazine awards.

As a Guest Chef, Larkin has been invited to be a member of the Viking Culinary staff and will be cooking at their Memphis facility in 2007. He also has participated with the Memphis Food and Wine Society, the Oklahoma State University School of Hospitality's Distinguished Chef Series, and for Old Waverly Golf Club in West Point, Miss. He has "created" along side Celebrity Chefs for fund-raising events, during MIFA's Cocktails in the Kitchen, Hess wine dinners, and a myriad of other galas to raise money for charitable causes, such as St. Jude Children's Research Hospital.

Larkin inherited great culinary genes, growing up around Grisanti kitchens and near the expertise of Grandfather Elfo Grisanti, Uncle John Grisanti, and his father, Frank Grisanti, who serves on the National Restaurant Assoc. board of directors. His first experience cooking with a celebrity chef was as a young 13-year-old boy. The celebrity was the incomparable Julia Childs during a special event at the Peabody Hotel in Memphis.

In college, he sought a unique degree that would help bolster his role in the family business. He earned a bachelor of science degree in small business/entrepreneurship from the Sam M. Walton College of Business at the University of Arkansas where he was a member of the Phi Delta Theta fraternity.

Larkin also co-authored the Frank Grisanti and Sons The Main Course cookbook, published by Wimmer, featuring more than 100 recipes that represent nearly a century of northern Italian cooking in the Mid-South.

Larkin was selected as the 2006 Memphis Business Journal's "Top 40 Under 40" from among 150 nominees. The award recognizes professional, civic and community involvement accomplishments.

Larkin is a professional food member of the James Beard Foundation that operates The James Beard House in New York City, NY. He is a member of both the Tennessee and National Restaurant Associations and the MIFA Kitchen Development Committee in Memphis. He also is a member of the University of Arkansas Alumni Association.

Read Frank A. Grisanti's Bio.