Chef Blake to Lead All Culinary Operations and Concessions
for Popular College Park Sports and Event Venue
ATLANTA – December 19, 2022 – Gateway Center Arena, a state-of-the-art 5,000-seat sports and event venue located in South Atlanta, today announced the recent promotion of Blake White to Executive Chef. In this new role, White will manage all of the arena’s food and beverage operations, including overseeing concessions and maintaining quality service standards, as well as focusing on the creation of new culinary experiences with unique event and game day menus.
“Since joining the GICC Campus team earlier this year, Chef Blake has made a tremendous impact, working alongside Chef Matt Finley to take our food and beverage operations to a new level,” said Mercedes Miller, executive director of the Georgia International Convention Center (GICC), Gateway Center Arena and Historic College Park Golf Course. “We are excited to watch Chef Blake flourish in his elevated role!”
Chef Blake joined the Proof of the Pudding @ GICC team as executive sous chef at the beginning of 2022, bringing more than 15 years of culinary experience to the team. In that role, he oversaw the culinary staff and kitchen operations for all GICC and Gateway Center Arena events. Growing up in Decatur, Georgia fostered Chef Blake’s passion for Southern comfort food and BBQ, and ultimately inspired him to pursue a career in the culinary industry. After graduating from Le Cordon Bleu College for Culinary Arts, he worked in the kitchen for various catering event operations. Chef Blake brings a fresh perspective and unparalleled talent to the Proof of the Pudding @ GICC team.
“Chef Blake has been a great addition to the GICC family, and to watch his incredible growth has been a privilege,” said Howard Hickman, food service general manager at the GICC Campus. “As Chef Matt transitions into developing and managing campus-wide catering efforts, we look forward to watching Chef Blake continue to enhance the Arena’s amazing culinary program.”
For more information on the Gateway Center Arena, visit www.ArenaGatewayCenter.com or follow @GatewayArena on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.
About Gateway Center Arena
Gateway Center Arena is a state-of-the-art 5,000-seat venue located in Metro Atlanta’s Southside, just minutes from downtown Atlanta via MARTA or the highway and a three-minute Skytrain ride from Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport. With the help of their award-winning staff, the Gateway Center Arena is every guest’s ticket to quality entertainment and events. Line-ups include a variety of professional sporting events, concerts, family events, graduations, conventions and more. As the official home to the WNBA team Atlanta Dream and the Atlanta Hawks G-League team, the College Park SkyHawks, the Gateway Center Arena is designed with sports fans in mind. Event planners have everything they need to bring the experiences they imagine to life in this world-class facility.
