Art Smith

I'm a: Manager/Owner, Chef, Writer
City, State: Chicago, IL

Bio:

The executive chef and co-owner of Table fifty-two and Art and Soul restaurants, Art Smith has received the culinary profession's highest awards and has cooked for some of the world's most famous celebrities. In 1997, Smith became the personal, day-to-day chef to Oprah Winfrey, a position that lasted ten years. Smith now coordinates and cooks for the headline-grabbing special events that Ms. Winfrey hosts all around the world. In Summer 2011 Smith along with a stellar team of restaurant and business leaders is opening Lyfe Kitchen in Palo Alto, CA– a fast-casual restaurant with healthy eating at its core.

Most recently Smith has made several television appearances including Top Chef and Top Chef Masters, where he quickly became an audience favorite. Smith was also featured in an episode of Extreme Makeover: Home Edition where he lend a hand to a deserving family that has devoted their lives to providing meals for the less fortunate members of their community.

Smith has made regular television appearances on programs such as Iron Chef America, The Today Show, Nightline, Fox News, Extra, Dr. Oz and Oprah in addition to having served as a Williams-Sonoma culinary instructor and the special events chef for Martha Stewart Living magazine.

Smith’s TLC television series, BBQ Pitmasters is in its second season. The show will be fronted by an expert panel of judges who will pick apart each contestant as they vie for the grad prize. The series is produced by Original Media.

A contributing editor to O, the Oprah Magazine, Smith is also the author of three award-winning cookbooks: Back to the Table; Kitchen Life: Real Food for Real Families; and Back to the Family. Most recently he contributed recipes and cooking advice to The Spectrum, the newest book by ground-breaking cardiologist and New York Times bestselling author Dr. Dean Ornish.

In 2003 he founded Common Threads, a non-profit organization that teaches children about diversity and tolerance through the world's great cultures. For his tireless Common Threads leadership, Smith was honored by Chicago magazine as a Chicagoan of the Year in 2007. That same year, the prestigious James Beard Foundation named him Humanitarian of the Year.

http://www.chefartsmith.net/cms/

Photo by George Burns

Restaurants I'm affiliated with: Table fifty-two, Art and Soul