Roswell-native Jasmin Willis-Slewitzke’s life took a decisive turn when she entered Le Cordon Bleu to earn a Baking and Pattisserie degree. She realized she wanted to work closely with people and do something that would enhance their lives, and knew food was her way to achieve this.
After graduating from Culinary School, she starting working on the pastry team under Chef Chrysta Poulos at St. Cecelia. Jasmin soaked up every bit of knowledge Chef Chrysta provided and fell head of heals in love with creating wonderful breads, pastries, and plated desserts. She was then promoted to Lead Pastry Chef at Marcel, where she worked for about a year, before Ford Fry’s entire pastry team moved under one roof at King + Duke, where she happily created pastries for the restaurant group.
Having always dreamed of opening your own restaurant, Jasmin dreamed of creating a space with a joyous environment, where workers wanted to be there, providing the feeling of home for both employees and guests.
For almost a year, she simultaneously gutted and designed the new space while working tirelessly to create the Pastry Menu, including her signature, other-worldly biscuits. Together with her now husband, Conner, Gracious Plenty opened in 2019 and has been a popular gathering place for locals, as well as a destination restaurant for guests looking for small-batch, scratch made dishes using locally sourced ingredients.
From growing up in Roswell and gaining a Culinary Degree from the Art Institute of Atlanta, then working at some of the city’s most acclaimed restaurants, there is no doubt that Conner Slewitzke is a Southern Chef who is impassioned by how food and community are intertwined.
Conner spent several years working with Ford Fry at both King and Duke and The Optimist before joining the team at Staplehouse, where he gained high-end fine dining experience preparing stunning coursed menus under the tutelage of Chef Ryan Smith.
In fact, Conner and Jasmin met while working together at King and Duke, and when Jasmin shared the idea of opening the first locally focused and owned, chef-driven breakfast spot in Roswell, he was all in. They both wanted their restaurant to be different than others, creating a family-like atmosphere among the staff, tipping both those in the front and the back of the house.
From day one, Conner was responsible for creating and perfecting the recipes for all of the savory dishes on Gracious Plenty’s Menu. During the past five years, he has developed close relationship with small, local farmers who supply the restaurant’s produce and proteins. So fascinated by the education they provided about careful practices, Conner and Jasmin decided to buy Dandelion Daze, their own working farm, where they grow a variety of the produce served at the restaurant as well as raise goats, chickens and more.
We partner with local farmers and butchers in an effort to create a restaurant that focuses on quality, not quantity. By choosing to operate locally and seasonally, we give more opportunities to family owned businesses and farms in Roswell and beyond.
