James Beard Award winner
Andrew Ticer
- Discipline
- James Beard Award winner
i. Biography
The Path
Johnson & Wales University is the training ground that shows up first in Andrew Ticer’s work: a base that helped set the detail, discipline, and consistency that later defined his Memphis restaurants. Since 2008, Andrew Michael Italian Kitchen has carried that point of view as a chef-owner project, with Ticer’s name attached to a restaurant identity built around steady execution rather than flash. Hog & Hominy and Porcellino's craft butcher shop extend the same framework from different angles, each adding another working part to a career that has stayed rooted in Memphis while widening in scope. The portfolio reads as a set of connected operations rather than separate chapters. Andrew Michael Italian Kitchen established the primary language; Hog & Hominy and Porcellino's craft butcher shop broadened it. With Andrew Ticer, the progression is methodical: each role adds another layer of practice, and each restaurant sharpens the same underlying standard.
The Work Today
Since 2011, Hog & Hominy has remained part of Andrew Ticer’s current work, a steady fixture in a career that keeps moving without losing its center. As an original Memphis restaurant in his orbit, it anchors the broader body of work in a specific place and keeps the day-to-day tied to continuity as much as change. For a chef-owner, that kind of hold matters; it gives the rest of the portfolio a fixed reference point.
Signature
Red Wine Pappardelle, Maw Maw’s Ravioli with Meat Gravy, Polenta Johnnycakes with Smoked Amberjack and Pickled Ramps, and A.M. Breakfast sit at the center of Andrew Ticer’s signature. The dish names already do a lot of the work: some lean into comfort and inheritance, others into contrast, texture, and a more pointed modern register. Taken together, they show a kitchen language that can move between familiar cues and a more exacting hand without changing tone. The structure of the dishes reinforces that range. Red Wine Pappardelle and Maw Maw’s Ravioli with Meat Gravy carry warmth and density; Polenta Johnnycakes with Smoked Amberjack and Pickled Ramps introduces layered elements; A.M. Breakfast suggests a dish built to make the morning feel considered. In Andrew Ticer’s case, signature is less about one defining plate than a repeatable way of balancing memory, precision, and pace.
Acclaim
Andrew Ticer has received James Beard Foundation, Best Chef: Southeast finalist (2015). Best Chef: Southeast nominee, Best Chef: Southeast semifinalist, and StarChefs Tennessee-Kentucky Rising Stars Award (2013) mark Andrew Ticer’s work within the regional trade conversation. The recognition tracks a career that has earned notice for persistence as much as for the voice that has taken shape through his restaurants. The 2013 StarChefs Tennessee-Kentucky Rising Stars Award is notable as an early formal read on that momentum.
Profile updated August 2026
FAQ
Asked of Andrew
What is Andrew Ticer's current role?
As of 2026, Andrew Ticer is chef-owner.
Where did Andrew Ticer train or study?
Andrew Ticer trained at Johnson & Wales University.
What recognition has Andrew Ticer received?
Best Chef: Southeast nominee (2015).
