Chef Jimmy Gentry takes no-nonsense path to Michelin stage
Chef Jimmy Gentry owns The Lobbyist, located in Downtown Memphis. (Mark Weber/The Daily Memphian file)
Before Jimmy Gentry was 10 years old, he jokes he had probably been in more Memphis bars and restaurants than most adults ever would.
His mother worked in restaurants; his father in distribution for what is now Southern Glazer’s Wine & Spirits.
And now he is at the helm of only one of four local places that the Michelin Guide added to its 2025 Recommended list for the American South. A fifth was recognized in the guide’s Bib Gourmand section, which is designated for “good quality, good value cooking.”
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Christin Yates
Christin Yates is a native Memphian who has worked in PR and copywriting since 2007. She earned her B.S. in public relations and M.S. in mass communications from Murray State University.
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