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Omnivore Atlanta

A blog dedicated to the discussion of food, restaurants and life

Who made those tapas?

November 25th, 2008 by Cliff Bostock in Restaurants

I wrote not long ago about encountering some excellent new tapas on Eclipse di Luna’s menu. It turns out they are the work of Ben McPherson, who became executive chef recently, after two years as sous chef at the restaurant owned by James Ehrlich and Eric Kline.

The restaurant sent me his bio:

Ben McPherson serves as the executive chef at Eclipse di Luna, where he oversees all operations of the kitchen and creates new dishes that follow the restaurant’s style of Spanish and Latin cuisine using modern techniques. He sought out Eclipse di Luna for a culinary environment that cultivates creativity, first serving as the restaurant’s sous chef for two years.

“My goal in this position is to work with local farmers and purveyors in order to source the best quality products to enhance the restaurant’s menu and make Eclipse di Luna one of the best tapas restaurants in the country,” says McPherson.

A graduate of Johnson & Wales University, McPherson began his career at Magnolia’s in Charleston, South Carolina, where he worked under James Beard Award-winning Chef Donald Barickman, but his worldly culinary perspective originally comes from the time he spent growing up in Germany and Italy as a teenager.

Upon moving to Atlanta in 1999, he served as sous chef and chef tournant at Buckhead Life Restaurant Group’s Pricci and Corner Café for three years. McPherson then moved on to work for Fifth Group Restaurants at La Tavola Trattoria in Virginia-Highland where he contributed to both the regular menu and daily specials as the restaurant’s chef tournant for two years. Following La Tavola Trattoria, he worked as the sous chef at Portofino in Buckhead, where he utilized his extensive knowledge of Italian cuisine to produce monthly regional menus, daily specials and regular menu items.

McPherson’s creations at Eclipse di Luna include spiced venison Carpaccio with Mutsu apples and Valdion espuma; salmon ceviche with mint, lime avocado and crispy yucca; lavender scented lamb with barley salad and saffron aioli; chorizo with bacon and white bean stew; and a roasted chicken and poblano pepper empanada with Manchego cheese and tomato marmalade.