The Mill Kitchen & Bar

Originally from Orlando, Florida, Dollar moved to Atlanta when he was 11 years old and worked in local restaurants while in high school. After graduation, he was on track to attend college as a business major, but his love affair with the restaurant industry compelled him to attend culinary school at the Art Institute of Atlanta instead. After completing culinary school, he worked at Rainwater restaurant in Alpharetta under acclaimed Atlanta chef Jay Swift, who took Dollar under his wing and became his mentor. His desire to continue a fine dining career led Dollar to join Milton’s Cuisine & Cocktails in the CrabappleCommunity of North Fulton, Georgia as sous chef in January 2011. Two years later he was promoted to chef de cuisine and quickly became the restaurant’s executive chef in 2013 and continued to build the business as a managing partner until 2023 when he decided to join the team at The Mill Restaurant in Roswell, Georgia as Executive Chef and Managing Partner. With his culinary career now spanning over two decades he has since gained a reputation as an inventive and uncompromising chef who demands the very best and keeps his own plate quite full in the process. In addition to the traditional executive chef responsibilities, Dollar has experimented in horticulture with the goal of restaurant sustainability along with staff and guest education on the importance of local partnerships with farmers and how to utilize garden bounties and hyper-local ingredients each night. Because of this, in 2017 Chef Dollar was chosen by Agriculture Commissioner of Georgia Gary Black to join the Georgia Grown Executive Chef team for his outstanding contributions to sustainable dining he utilizes in his menu planning. With this honor, Chef Derek along with other well-known Atlanta chefs traveled to cook and represent the South at a James Beard House series showcasing Southern chefs who specialize in utilizing local ingredients.