R. J. Cooper III

R. J. Cooper III is a James Beard chef whose career spans Detroit, Atlanta, Washington, D.C. Nashville, and, most recently, Kohler Hospitality in Wisconsin. He trained at Kendall College’s School of Culinary Arts, worked in Atlanta at the Ritz-Carlton Downtown, the Ritz-Carlton Buckhead, and Brasserie Le Coze, and later built his reputation in Washington, D.C. at Vidalia, where he won the James Beard Award for Best Chef: Mid-Atlantic in 2007. He later led Rogue 24 in Washington, D.C. and in Nashville opened Saint Stephen and Acqua before being named Culinary Director for Kohler Hospitality in 2024.