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Welcome to Table Talk, where Daily Memphian food and dining editor Jennifer Biggs sends the latest food news, along with a dash of this and that, to your inbox every Wednesday. This week, we’re sending Table Talk to everyone on our food lists, subscribers and nonsubscribers, as our Valentine to you. And, if you love what you read and you want to become a subscriber, we’ll give you an additional 10% off and a free Daily Memphian shirt.
There are plenty of good things about being a food writer, and sure, the food is part of it. But it’s the people who make it a job I’m happy to wake up to do every day.
Ryan Trimm, who is the Memphis Restaurant Association’s Restaurateur of the Year and will be honored at its annual banquet Sunday, Feb. 12, is right at the top of that list of fine folks. He’s true blue, a guy who gives you his word and sticks to it, one who takes care of his employees, a genuinely nice guy who does his best to do the right thing.
The MRA picked a great honoree. Hearty congratulations to Trimm, 43.
He didn’t plan to be a chef. Coming from a family full of lawyers, Trimm didn’t give much thought to his career: He went to the University of Mississippi, majored in English, minored in business administration and planned to go to law school. But while he was in Oxford, he took at a job at the restaurant 208 South Lamar and found he liked being in the kitchen.
So it was on to culinary school. Trimm went to Johnson & Wales in Charleston, South Carolina, where he learned about the Low Country food that would become his signature style when he opened Sweet Grass.
Trimm got engaged, and Sarah, his wife, wanted to live in Memphis, so back they came. In 2005, he went job hunting. His first stop was The Grove Grill because it was just a mile or so from his house.
“I was hired in about five minutes,” Trimm said. “I’ve never been sure exactly what happened, but someone must’ve quit or have been fired because Jeff (Dunham) said ‘Can you start tonight?’ So I did and was the sous chef within three months, then eventually ran the kitchen. I was in the right place at the right time.”
Glenn Hays, who owned La Tourelle and still owns Café 1912, approached Trimm and said he wanted to open one more restaurant, so in 2010, they opened Sweet Grass.
“It was great; Glenn was a great partner,” Trimm said. “We were equal partners and I bought him out in 2015, which we planned from the beginning.”
In 2017, Trimm teamed up with Roger Sapp and Craig Blondis of Central BBQ to form Across the Board Restaurant Group. That year, they opened Sunrise on Jefferson Avenue, then Prime 117 in 2018 and the second Sunrise, in East Memphis, in December 2022.
Along the way, they closed Sweet Grass. The last meal was Easter brunch in April 2022. At the time, Trimm said he hoped to open another place like it someday.
But Trimm’s a husband, a father to two kids ages 8 and 11, loves to travel to national parks with his family and likes spending time with Ollie, the boxer who he says is his best friend.
“The further away from that I get, the more I don’t think so,” Trimm said. “This getting home early, seeing the family more, getting to bed at a reasonable time, I sort of like that.”
 Primas Bakery owner Rachel Mullen will compete on Food Network’s “Spring Baking Championship: Easter,” which premieres on Monday, March 6. (Mark Weber/The Daily Memphian)
Rick Bowers of Patrick Accounting is the MRA Associate of the Year, and Ernie Mellor of Hog Wild is the Meritorious Service Award Winner for 2023.
And yes, the event is on Super Bowl Sunday (where’s my palms-up, shrugging emoji?), but if you don’t plan on watching the game or going to a party, this event is open to the public and it’s a great deal. You can eat and drink just about all you want for $75. Food vendors include Patrick’s, Curry & Jerk, Huey’s, Corky’s, the Peabody and plenty more. It’s at The Kent on 61 Keel Ave. from 5 to 10 p.m., and you can get your tickets by clicking here.
And, take note: You can expect a popular Sweet Grass recipe in this Saturday’s Recipe Exchange.
In more “sweet” news, congratulations to Rachel Mullen of Prima’s Bakery & Boutique and RM Petit Cakes. She’s headed to Food Network’s “Spring Baking Championship: Easter,” which premieres on Monday, March 6. It’s one of those elimination competition shows. We’ll bring you more about this soon.
And shout out to Chloe Sexton, whose BluffCakes Bakery opens at noon on Friday, Feb. 10 at 7850 Poplar Ave. Read more about Sexton by clicking here.
 Father Ben Bradshaw, the priest at St. Michael's Catholic Church, will make hundreds of king cakes for Mardi Gras again this year. (Brad Vest/Special to The Daily Memphian)
Plus this: It’s most definitely king cake season and, if you want to order one from Father Ben Bradshaw at St. Michael Catholic Church, you better get on it. They’ll bake 700, and not one more. Sure, Bradshaw is a priest, but he has an extensive background with baking.
How about we just call this Table Talk “the sweet one?” I recently took a trip to Sugaree’s Bakery in New Albany for its Full Moon Sale and I’m spreading the word that you need to do the same. It’s a cute little town; the folks were so nice and fun, and you can bring home as many $15 Sugaree’s cakes from the discount freezer as you want.
Biggby Coffee, a Michigan chain, has opened its first Tennessee location, on S. Germantown Parkway.
And while we’re talking chains, we went back to the Atlanta Bread Company and its creamy tomato soup for last week’s Recipe Exchange.
 An Italian sub sandwich, a calzone and a 13-inch cheese pizza with added pepperoni at Memphis Pizza Café. (Jennifer Biggs/The Daily Memphian)
Finally, the kids and I had lunch at Memphis Pizza Café just as the ice and sleet came down on us last week, and it is absolutely full of $10 Deals.
Thankfully that weather mess is behind us, my forsythia is in bloom and the daffodils will be this week. I’m not saying winter is over, but wouldn’t it be nice?
Have a great week, and here’s a gentle reminder: Valentine’s Day will be here before the next Table Talk is. Don’t forget!
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