Macon Magazine

TALKING CHOP: CHEF NEWS Baking and barbecue VICTORIA LOPEZ BECOMES HEAD CHEF OF SATTERFIELD'S VICTORIA LOPEZ began her career in Macon with her business, Victory Bagels, out of the Mill Hill Community Arts Center. Before that, she'd been the chef of a vegan and vegetarian restaurant called Treehouse in St. Louis, Missouri. Her initial connection to Satterfield's was formed through Victory Bagels. Husband and wife duo Ben Hampton and Marla Kaplan (who purchased the 1983-founded Satterfield's in 2019) tried her challah bread. "The second I tasted that bread, I knew I wanted it for all the sandwiches at Satterfield's," Hampton said. Lopez began baking for them, then started helping part- time in the restaurant. This January, she became Satterfield's new head chef. Lopez had never worked in barbecue before, but Hampton worked for a decade running the catering department and managing the front of house for Heirloom Market Barbecue, which is listed as one of the top barbecue restaurants in the United States by publications including Southern Living, Business Insider, and HuffPost. Pitmaster and Catering Manager Antwon Fleming (better known as "Snack") is part of Satterfield's original family legacy: his uncle was the Pitmaster for 20 years before Snack took over in 2020. In short, their small team lacks no expertise. Lopez has since been cross-trained in everything she needs to know about smoking, meat drops, and the ins and outs of the complex barbecue process. "I love learning new things," Lopez shared. "It's cool thing. She's never come into the world of barbecue before. But she's an amazing chef ... and her mindset is like, 'Yeah, let's bring in more veggies.' We need that," Hampton said. The two teach each other and grow together as a team. Hampton expressed that everyone on their staff is cross-trained to fill in wherever they're needed, so bringing in a chef that can teach them new skills — like baking and great veggie recipes — enhances the restaurant's ability to impress guests. "Our core staff is only five people," Lopez explained. "So everyone has to learn everything," Hampton chimed in. It's tough to manage lunch, dinner, (and now Saturday brunch), plus large and frequent catering with such a small crew. "But we are a family, and we do what we got to do," Hampton said. They don't do it the easy way, either. "We do things the right way. Everything is from scratch. I'm talking 34 maconmagazine.com | FEBRUARY/MARCH 2023

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