Robert Phalen of One Eared Stag - Biography

Robert Phalen’s thorough culinary education started early on with childhood summers spent on the family farm, eating just-picked peaches and tomatoes. After high school he earned a hotel and restaurant management degree from the University of Mississippi, eventually getting his masters degree equivalent from Johnson & Wales in Charleston.

Influenced by John Currence and Bob Wagner—and likely nostalgic for a market generally teeming with fresh produce—Phalen settled in Atlanta, first working pastry under Edoard Fenouil at Mumbo Jumbo, then as executive chef at Alon Balshon’s namesake, and at Atlanta magazine’s 2003 restaurant of the year, MidCity Cuisine.

In 2008, Phalen opened his first venture, Holy Taco, an ingredient-driven Pan-Latin restaurant in the heart of east Atlanta. Spring 2011 saw Phalen opening the casually elegant One Eared Stag, earning him a 2012 StarChefs.com Rising Star award and continuing a career-long homage to the beauty of fresh-picked food.