A few months back, Steven Greene returned from a several-week cooking gig with Thomas Keller at the French Laundry in Napa. The two had met months earlier when Keller cooked at Greene's restaurant during a food festival in Greenville, SC. Keller, arguably America's greatest chef, was clearly impressed with the 28-year-old.

And why not? The guy has quickly established an impressive résumé. Before opening his own restaurant, Devereaux's, in a century-old cigar factory, Greene cooked with two nationally recognized chefs in Charleston, SC. First he rubbed elbows with Michael Kramer of McCrady's, and later with Ken Vedrinski at the Dining Room at Woodlands Resort & Inn, South Carolina's only Mobile 5-Star restaurant.

Greene learned early on that a young chef's best lessons come from working with the best, which explains other cooking stints he did with Michelle Bernstein at Azul in Miami and in Las Vegas with Joel Robuchon and Alessandro Stratta. At Devereaux's (Greene's middle name), his contemporary menu has a decidedly southern accent. And he recently showed off his southern chops in New York City, where he cooked at the James Beard House.