Charlotte restaurant has food by a celebrity chef, but don’t call him a celebrity chef
Ever wonder what it’s like to eat like a celebrity? Now you can: Chef’s Kitchen is open for takeout in South End. The new space is in the midst of renovations, but the food is hot and ready to enjoy.
Chef Anthony Smith, executive chef and culinary director at Chef’s Kitchen, doesn’t consider himself a celebrity chef, but he’s cooked meals for professional clients in the NFL and MLB.
“No no no, I do not consider myself a ‘celebrity chef’,” Smith said. “We’ve just been fortunate enough to have those clients.”
If you take a moment to scroll through Smith’s Instagram or the Instagram for Chef’s Kitchen, you won’t wonder why celebrities and venues around Charlotte demand his cooking. Both feeds are painted in photos of warm garlic-parm pretzels, creamy shrimp dishes and vibrant meal prep.
FROM DISHWASHER TO EXECUTIVE CHEF
Smith’s success is a testament to hard work. He started as a dishwasher and worked his way up to the title of executive chef, having been a catering chef, executive sous chef and chef de cuisine in between. Through his time at country clubs, restaurants and catering companies, he honed his craft to perfection. Now, he has his own business and an impressive lineup of clients.
“A friend of mine a few years back got me my first NFL client, Kony Ealy, when he played for the NY Giants,” Smith said.
Since then, his company’s reputation spread, and he began garnering more clients, like Kelly Davis, wife to former Carolina Panthers linebacker Thomas Davis. Smith even catered their daughters’ graduation party. He’s also prepared meals for the Carolina Panthers, New York Knicks and the CEO of General Electric.
SAME INCREDIBLE FOOD, NEW LOCATION
Though Chef’s Kitchen has been in business since 2017, Smith and his partner Taylor Bishop, director of operations and front of house manager, recently moved their operation from a commissary space to its current South End location in May 2019. You’ll find it near The Unknown Brewing Company, Seoul Food Meat Company and Wooden Robot Brewery.
“We just needed more space and more freedom to spread out our business without having to book time at the commissary,” Smith said.
Now, Smith and Bishop have 3,000-square-feet — and more than half of that is just kitchen space. They’re currently in the process of renovations and plan to offer seating for the takeout business, as well as space to accommodate small caterings on-site.
“We were already planning on starting takeout and delivery. The pandemic basically forced us to start that quickly. We closed for one month, regrouped and opened for takeout,” Smith said. “It has affected our catering business largely because of the gathering rule that’s in place.”
When Chef’s Kitchen first opened, the plan was just to offer meal prep, but the business expanded quickly.
“We did a fitness and nutrition class at one of the apartment communities Uptown and started growing our catering business on the strength of the catering and planning resident events for luxury apartments from Charlotte to Atlanta,” Smith said. “That was a great way to get our name out, as a lot of the residents and some of the staff used us for their private catering needs.”
Chef’s Kitchen offers Southern and Italian-themed menus. It caters weddings, birthdays, private dinners and resident events.
“We try to cover all of the aspects of catering from decorating to food to bartending,” Smith said. “With having an upscale, high-end background, I try to make each menu item unique and make the presentation perfect. I really focus on the taste and look of every dish from catering to plating.”
And with so many successful events under his belt, he still says weddings are his favorite event to cater.
“Every wedding we’ve been blessed to be a part of. They were all our favorite memories, and we can’t wait to get back to catering,” Smith said.
In addition to Chef’s Kitchen, Smith and Bishop also own La Stagioni Italian Corporate Catering, Prep CLT, and Chef’s Table & Craft Pizza — all of which have corporate offerings.
“We plan on taking one of those brands to the next step with opening a sit-down restaurant in the near future,” Smith hinted.
And all of their hard work is paying off — Chef’s Kitchen was recently voted No. 1 for corporate catering and No. 1 for meetings and large events by ezCater. La Stagioni came in No. 5 on that list, as well.
CHEF ANTHONY SMITH IS THE BOSS, SO HE CAN WEAR COOL PANTS
Smith’s food — full of vibrant color and packed with flavor — is enough to make him stand out.
But his pants take his level of cool off the charts.
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He’s been spotted in unique pants, with patterns including doughnuts, apples and kitchen utensils. So what’s the story?
“A few years back, I worked for Chef Carlo [Martinez] at Hawthorne’s Pizza. He would always have these nice pants on. One night we had a pre-shift meeting and I asked when I could start wearing different pants and he responded, ‘When you become the boss,’” Smith said. “So now I’m the boss, and I like to be different. Much respect to Chef Carlo and the Hawthorne’s organization.”
Smith gets all of his uniforms from Chef Uniforms, and he’s their Chef of the Month.
Moment of silence for all of us who are not the boss, and therefore must wait to wear cool pants.
Chef’s Kitchen
1422 Winnifred St.
Instagram: @chefskitchenclt
