Jamie Adams, executive chef of Atlanta’s Il Giallo Osteria & Bar, has received the highest honor bestowed by Georgia-based poultry producer Springer Mountain Farms; its Celebrate the Chef Award. The award is presented to a select handful of chefs who demonstrate culinary excellence, consistency in the dining experience and a commitment to the use of fresh and local ingredients.

“Chef Jamie is known as one of Atlanta’s finest Italian chefs and spent several years in Italy studying their rich cuisine, culture, and traditions which we admire. He also dealt with a life-endangering health condition and came back stronger than ever—his passion for the culinary arts is truly inspiring and really comes through in his food,” says Dale Faunce, marketing director at Springer Mountain Farms.

With some 20 years of experience with the prestigious Buckhead Life Restaurant Group and Pano Karatassos, Chef Jamie Adams has helmed the kitchens of Atlanta’s most recognizable Italian restaurants, including Pricci and Veni Vidi Vici before opening il Giallo Osteria & Bar with fellow Buckhead Life Alumni, Leonardo Moura. He has been a featured chef at The James Beard House in New York, competed in The Food Network’s “Chopped,” selected to participate in a TBS-TV “Super Chef Cook-Off,” and was highlighted on “Great Chefs of the South,” and “The Best Thing I Ever Ate.”

In 2000 at the age of 41, Adams became, as he refers to it, “the lucky recipient of 4 Coronary Artery Bypass Grafts (CABG), fondly referred to as “Cabbage” aka, a quadruple bypass. Faced with such a life-altering event, Adams paid attention to the “wake-up” call and began a new life of healthy diet and exercise, primarily in the form of road cycling. It also rekindled in him the desire for a new platform to express his many influences, from the beautifully handcrafted pastas learned in Piemonte and Emilia-Romanga, to the wonderful variety of the Italian coast from Venice to Genoa.

“Throughout my career, I have always had a very simple approach, and as I get older, and further into the voyage, simplicity continues to be central to who I am.  I use few ingredients in each dish that I create, and that requires starting with great products,” says Chef Jamie Adams.  “Springer Mountain Farms Chicken fits my criteria in that they are hormone free, naturally raised birds, and that translates into a wholesome and healthy ingredient and when prepared simply, simply grand results happen.”