Executive Chef, Twisted Soul Cookhouse & Pours in Atlanta
Focused, driven and competitive. Three words that fit Robert Butts like a tailored chef’s jacket. Since quitting his job at a Charlotte news station seven years ago to go to culinary school, Robert, 30, has been on a mission. Despite friends and family who thought he was crazy, he quickly discovered there was a lot more to learn. So he packed a bag and moved to the south of France for a year-and-a-half.
Armed with the knowledge of French cooking, Robert moved to Atlanta at 23 and worked as a prep cook in several area restaurants. His first stint at Twisted Soul included serving as a line cook and junior sous chef. After a move to Simon’s restaurant in Atlanta as executive chef, where the restaurant won Best Taste at the 2018 Taste of Atlanta, he served as executive chef for two other restaurants, all the while racking up awards.
When many restaurants closed during the pandemic, Robert began teaming up with his mentor, Twisted Soul owner and chef Deborah VanTrece, to do events and dinners. Now, he’s back as executive chef, overseeing the restaurant operations as well as the catering arm of the business.
With a staff of eight and the freedom to bring a world influence to the restaurant’s modern take on Southern comfort food, Robert is “happy to be in a place where I can show my craft and my creativity. Food is actually a story,” he says. “To express that and for people to taste my journey – it means a lot.”
The rise of this young chef proves that hard work does pay off. But don’t think that competitive edge has softened. In September, Robert and his Twisted Soul team won the inaugural episode of American Restaurant Battle on the Food Network.
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