Griffin: ‘Arkansas, with its abundance of quality ingredients and unique culinary traditions, has produced some of the best chefs around’

LITTLE ROCK – Attorney General Tim Griffin today issued the following statement announcing that he has nominated Executive Chef Payne Harding, owner of Cache restaurant in Little Rock, to represent Arkansas in the 20th Annual Great American Seafood Cook-Off on August 3, 2024, in New Orleans:

“Arkansas, with its abundance of quality ingredients and unique culinary traditions, has produced some of the best chefs around. I look forward to Chef Harding continuing the tradition of Arkansas chefs participating in this competition, which is hosted by my good friend Louisiana Lt. Governor Billy Nungesser.

“Chef Harding’s attention to detail—both in the running of Cache and his use of ingredients—has made his restaurant a ‘go-to’ place in Little Rock. I fully expect him to apply that same level of skill in this competition and help highlight the culinary excellence that Arkansas has to offer the nation.”

Harding opened Cache in 2014. He is a 2009 graduate of the University of Central Arkansas and a 2012 graduate of the Culinary Institute of America. He was also named a Certified Executive Chef by the American Culinary Federation in 2019.

About Attorney General Tim Griffin

Tim Griffin was sworn in as the 57th Attorney General of Arkansas on January 10, 2023, having previously served as the state’s 20th Lieutenant Governor from 2015-2023. From 2011-2015, Griffin served as the 24th representative of Arkansas’s Second Congressional District, where he served on the House Committee on Ways and Means, House Armed Services Committee, House Committee on Foreign Affairs, House Committee on Ethics and House Committee on the Judiciary while also serving as a Deputy Whip for the Majority.

Griffin has served as an officer in the U.S. Army Reserve Judge Advocate General’s (JAG) Corps for more than 28 years and currently holds the rank of colonel. In 2005, Griffin was mobilized to active duty as an Army prosecutor at Fort Campbell, Kentucky, and served with the 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) in Mosul, Iraq.

He is currently serving as the Commander of the 2d Legal Operations Detachment in New Orleans, Louisiana. His previous assignments include serving as the Commander of the 134th Legal Operations Detachment at Fort Liberty (née Bragg), North Carolina, and as a Senior Legislative Advisor to the Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness at the Pentagon. Griffin earned a master’s degree in strategic studies as a Distinguished Honor Graduate from the U.S. Army War College, Carlisle Barracks, Pennsylvania.

Griffin also served as U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Arkansas, and Special Assistant to the President and Deputy Director of Political Affairs for President George W. Bush; Special Assistant to Assistant Attorney General Michael Chertoff, Criminal Division, U.S. Department of Justice; Special Assistant U.S. Attorney, U.S. Attorney’s Office, Eastern District of Arkansas; Senior Investigative Counsel, Government Reform and Oversight Committee, U.S. House of Representatives; and Associate Independent Counsel, Office of Independent Counsel David M. Barrett, In re: HUD Secretary Henry Cisneros.

Griffin is a graduate of Magnolia High School, Hendrix College in Conway, and Tulane Law School in New Orleans. He attended graduate school at Oxford University. He is admitted to practice law in Arkansas (active) and Louisiana (inactive). Griffin lives in Little Rock with his wife, Elizabeth, a Camden native, and their three children.

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