Chef Daniel Gorman
There haven't been many recent restaurant projects in Nashville more ambitious than what chef RJ Cooper started up at Henley in the Kimpton Aertson Hotel in Midtown. In a relatively small space, Henley has created the feeling of walking through an entire Southern mansion, from the welcoming veranda and bar up front to a clubby pool room at the back of the dining space and a secret chef’s table in the kitchen — where Cooper prepared special tasting menus with as many as two dozen courses in a space he named “The Rabbit Hole.” The bar program continues to thrive under the steady hand of Jonathan Howard, one of the city’s most thoughtful and ingenious bartenders.
So it was a surprise when Henley announced that Cooper would be leaving the restaurant to pursue other projects less than six months after opening. Fans of the restaurant wondered who his replacement would be and who could possibly maintain the elaborate and constantly changing menu at Henley. The answer was already right under our noses: Daniel Gorman, the opening chef de cuisine working under Cooper. Gorman has officially been named as the new executive chef, effective March 1, but he really stepped into the role as soon as Cooper left the kitchen.
No stranger to Nashville diners from stints working as chef de cuisine at 5th & Taylor and in the kitchens of Bastion and Josephine, Gorman has quietly earned a reputation as a real culinary talent. Born in the restaurant hotbed of Charleston, S.C., Gorman attended culinary school in Asheville, N.C., where he acquired the skills that would help him excel and a love of regional, seasonal cuisine. After graduating from culinary school, Gorman plied his new trade at restaurants in Asheville and Atlanta before earning his first big break as the sous chef under Patrick McConnell at the Michelin-starred Inn at Little Washington in Washington, Va.
The young chef earned acclaim, including being named Young Chef of America by Chaîne des Rôtisseurs. Chef Gorman has also been named the Hans Bueschkens Young Chef of the Americas and Young Chef of the World by the World Association of Chefs, two more major recognitions that most Nashville diners were unaware of.
It will be interesting to see how Gorman changes Henley and how much he will stay the course. While there is much to be discovered, there’s no doubt he has the pedigree to succeed. As part of such a major development in the Aertson complex, all eyes will be on him.
