Mathew Meeker
Fancypants | Nashville TN
July 2026
During a stage at Butcher & Bee in Nashville, Tennessee, Mathew Meeker sliced off the tip of his thumb on a mandolin. Undaunted, Meeker finished his shift—bandaged but energized—and landed his first restaurant job as a prep cook. Over the next year and a half, he moved through the stations, building a strong foundation and developing good habits under Chefs Chris DeJesus and Brian Weaver. In 2017, Meeker left to refine his skills as a line cook at Husk. Within six months, he took over managing Husk's larder and preservation program, learning from Chef Katie Coss while diving into resources on his own. In 2018, Meeker took a job at Peninsula, where he cooked under Rising Stars alum Jake Howell. After a year, Meeker joined Chef Sean Brock's team as a chef de partie, working on the opening team at The Continental and Joyland, helping both restaurants adapt to the challenges of the pandemic.
In 2021, Meeker left to pursue his own pop-up, Hester, serving elegant, fermentation-focused plates, until a one-night dinner at Bastion led to a permanent job as one of four chefs in residence working under the guidance of Chef Josh Habiger. After a break operating a small vegetable farm in Dallas, Texas, Meeker moved to Washington, D.C. in 2023 to work at Bresca and Jônt as an executive sous chef, learning classical French techniques in a fine dining setting. He then joined the opening team at Reverie 2.0, where he developed a close friendship with Rising Stars alum Johnny Spero and learned the ins and outs of opening a restaurant.
In 2024, Meeker moved back to Nashville to rejoin Weaver's Honest to Goodness Hospitality group and help open Fancypants as executive sous chef. In 2025, Meeker took over as executive chef, working with Weaver to create a menu that is both playful and ambitious, exemplified by dishes like the grilled beeswax-aged lamb saddle with a mushroom, preserved white asparagus, and razor clam ragù. Beyond the kitchen, he supports outreach efforts at Cumberland Heights Treatment Center, assisting and supporting individuals who are navigating addiction and recovery.
