Southern Art and Bourbon Bar, Atlanta’s restaurant from celebrity chef Art Smith celebrated its three-year anniversary earlier in October. Chef Art comes from a background cooking as Oprah's day-to-day private chef for ten years. In addition to Southern Art and Bourbon Bar, chef Smith also co-owns Art and Soul, Table fifty-two, and LYFE Kitchens. We caught up with chef Smith to chat about his views on food culture, Top Chef Duels and his personal life.
On losing to Kevin Gillespie on Top Chef Duels
Our episode was themed after Grey's Anatomy and we both picked challenges to touch on each other's weaknesses. Kevin was a force to be reckoned with. I consider myself the St. Francis of Assisi for animals, so it was tough to butcher a whole hog. But I did win the dessert round by baking up my 12-layer chocolate fudge cake. Something I realized was that several of the younger chefs don't know how to bake because they have their own pastry chef. But I worked as a home chef for Oprah and a few politicians, so I have those skills.
On the Food Culture
The White House dictates the food culture. When the Bushes came in, they wanted Southwest food and they preferred to eat in. Their cook, Krista, was Filipino. Then the Clintons were known for eating out, so the food culture evolved. When I visited the White House during the Obama administration, I noticed the staff was much more aware of the guests in the house, and it has regained more of the hospitality it had in the past. Washington D.C. historically is right on the Mason-Dixon line so people don’t realize it took more Southern and soul influences.
On Atlanta
Atlanta has always been the New York City of the South. I’m an openly gay American, married with a family. Atlanta has one of the oldest gay communities. I’m an activist and I think people can love what they want and marry who they want. Jesus Salguiero and I have been married five years and we have four foster children- Azumy, Zucky, Brando and Angel.
On Southern Art and Bourbon Bar
I believed that an upscale Southern restaurant would do well in Buckhead. In creating the concept, we wanted to highlight the different Southern staples.
- Bourbon and moonshine are the alcohols of the South, they are one of the oldest traditions. That's why I chose to focus on those spirits. The original restaurant space, before Southern Art, had a pewter bar, and I wanted to preserve that.
- They make really good ham in the South. It actually doesn't taste like a salt block, which is what I've experienced in other parts of the country. So we have section of the menu dedicated to our ham bar. Most of our hams are aged and come from small farms in Kentucky, North Carolina, Virginia and Tennessee.
- It should be all about sugar and fat in the South, so that's how the idea came about for the restaurant's sweet table. It's much more visual to see a 12-layer red velvet cake than just read the text on the menu.
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