Simple Elegance Restaurants

It all started in 1985 when Chef Donald McMillan with more than 30 years experience in the food industry purchased The Stocked Pot and Company, which was originally located at Reynolda Village. Next in 1989 Chef Dons love of food led him to open Gisele Fine Foods, a restaurant named after his wife, and take over the catering facilities at the Sawto... oth Building art complex in downtown Winston-Salem. In 1991 The N.C. School of the Arts then approached him to take over operations at the Stevens Center Arts Theatre, in the heart of downtown. Chef Don named the restaurant after another woman he admired, Edith Piaf. Chef Donald McMillan operated the Triads famous cooking school and Catering by Simple Elegance since November 1985 until ownership changed hands to his son Andrew McMillan in 2008. Andrew has enjoyed a lifetime of great culinary experiences as his travels have taken him around the world visiting over 31 countries on six continents. During the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, Andrew managed the South African Pavilion in charge of feeding over 400 athletes and support personnel four meals a day, as well as catering many VIP functions for the government of South Africa. These experiences play an important part in his role as CEO and President of The Stocked Pot Cooking School and Retail Store and Fun Culinary Team Building Events, Catering by Simple Elegance, as is evident in his extensive knowledge of wine and food at all the events he plans and caters. In November 2008 The Stocked Pot Cooking School and Retail Store moved to its current location at 381 Jonestown Road in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Here, cooking skills and techniques are learned and improved, and as The Winston-Salem Journal noted, The Stocked Pot taught Winston-Salem how to cook. In addition, Andrew created an online business which grew expediently from dog and cat apparel and bowls and home décor to name brand quality cookware, knives and kitchen gadgets. The Stocked Pot and Company, Catering by Simple Elegance and Chef Donald ...Read More