Michael Martin was born into a world of good food.
Growing up at the apron strings of his grandmother Thelma in her tiny kitchen full of wonderful tastes and smells or sitting on his mother’s kitchen counter sniffing spices and pinching herbs to season this tomato sauce or that chicken, it all meant one thing: family sharing a meal together, love.
Michael brought the passion and sensibility of this into the professional kitchen at an early age. Becoming one of the youngest head chefs in Nashville, he took over the top spot at the then fledgling, Sunset Grill at age 20.
Surviving that he moved on to New York and then across the Atlantic.
After working and traveling his way around Europe, Michael landed in Prague, Czech Republic in 1993, where he was tapped to become the first American chef to the U.S. Ambassador Adrian Basora. After his work at the Ambassador’s Residence, Michael went on to open Restaurant no.89, a casual fine dining restaurant acclaimed by the Czech elite, the media and locals alike.
Among many of the other highlights of his work in Prague was the opportunity to work on location for the filming of Last Holiday Last Holiday staring Queen Latifah and Gerard Depardieu. Working side by side with Susan Stockton, VP of Culinary Production and top food stylists Jay Brooks and Krista Ruane, from the Food Network,
Michael cooked and styled much of the food seen in the film.
The Food Network eventually led him back home to Nashville, close once more to mom and grandma, where he joined the team at Shop at Home, a television shopping network. At Shop at Home, Michael ran the culinary production of “From Emeril’s Kitchen” and became an on-air chef himself in the process.
He now lives and cooks with Romana his wife and South Fork partner in Franklin, Tennessee where he also gardens and repairs vintage motorcycles.
COOK. RIDE. EXPLORE
