Kate Williams (chef)

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Kate Williams is a chef and restaurateur in Detroit, Michigan, US. She owns and operates Lady of the House in Detroit's Corktown neighborhood. In 2018 Food + Wine named her one of America's best new chefs and GQ and Esquire named the restaurant to their lists of best new restaurants.

Early life[]

Williams was born in 1984 or 1985[1] in Detroit to parents who were also from Detroit.[2] She studied food science at Michigan State University.[3] She received a culinary degree from the French Culinary Institute.[4]

Career[]

Williams served as sous chef for Wolfgang Puck in Chicago[4] and worked in restaurants in New York and at  [da] in Copenhagen.[3][5] She was living in New York and working in restaurants when she came home to attend a funeral and "decided this is the only place I want to have a restaurant."[5] She returned to Detroit and helped open Republic Tavern and Parks & Rec Diner, serving as Executive Chef for Republic and Rodin before opening Lady of the House.[3][4]

The restaurant opened in September 2017 in Detroit's Corktown neighborhood in a 1970s building that was previously home to St. Cece's, an Irish pub.[2][5][6][7] It is open Tuesday through Sunday for dinner and, since February 2018, on Saturday and Sunday for brunch.[3][8] Some of the dinnerware had belonged to Williams' grandmother.[3] Childhood photos of restaurant employees hang in a hallway.[9]

According to Food + Wine it is a "no-waste kitchen."[2] Williams uses trim from prime rib to make tartare.[2]

Diners are sometimes disappointed when a dish they've read about is unavailable due to the seasonal nature of Williams' menu.[10] One of Williams' signature dishes is a "carrot steak," a large carrot shaved into thin slices, salted, rolled into a rosette, and basted in butter.[5][10] It requires large carrots, so is available only at times of year when local farmers are producing them.[10]

Williams' initial vision was to build a neighborhood restaurant "that feels like it's been there forever."[10] She wanted a restaurant "small enough that I am cooking every day and not just doing paperwork."[6]

She has family connections to Corktown and Detroit.[9] Her paternal grandfather once lived a few blocks from the restaurant's location.[2] Her maternal grandparents met at the Gaelic League, located around the corner.[2] A great-great-grandfather ran a bakery in Detroit's West Village neighborhood.[11]

Recognition[]

In 2018 Food + Wine named her one of America's best new chefs, one of only three Michigan chefs since the magazine started the list.[1][2][10] The same year, GQ and Esquire named the restaurant to their lists of the year's best new restaurants.[9][10] The restaurant was a semifinalist for the James Beard award for best new restaurant in the country.[12]

In 2019 she was a semifinalist for a James Beard award for best chef in the Great Lakes.[10][13]

Industry journal Restaurant Hospitality called her "the poster child for Detroit's rising food scene."[3] The Chicago Tribune said her food showed "pure mastery."[14] The New York Times called it "seasonal-voluptuous."[15]

Philanthropy[]

Williams works with Alternatives for Girls, which helps homeless and at-risk girls and young women.[4] She teaches cooking classes on preparing inexpensive, healthy meals.[4]

Personal life[]

Williams has lived in Corktown since 2014.[7]

References[]

  1. ^ a b Kurlyandchik, Mark (May 22, 2018). "Chef Kate Williams and her Lady of the House restaurant garner national press". Detroit Free Press. Retrieved August 28, 2019.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g Rothman, Jordana (May 21, 2018). "Food & Wine Best New Chefs 2018". Food & Wine. Retrieved August 28, 2019.
  3. ^ a b c d e f Fitzpatrick, Tara (March 7, 2018). "On the Rise: Kate Williams". Restaurant Hospitality. Retrieved August 28, 2019.
  4. ^ a b c d e "Kate Williams". FOOD & WINE Classic in Aspen. Retrieved August 28, 2019.
  5. ^ a b c d Wells, Pete (May 28, 2018). "Farm-to-Table in the Shadow of Downtown Detroit". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved August 28, 2019.
  6. ^ a b Canavan, Hillary Dixler (September 13, 2017). "Detroit Chef Kate Williams Knows Exactly Why She Cooks". Eater. Retrieved August 28, 2019.
  7. ^ a b Kurlyandchik, Mark (December 18, 2016). "Lady of the House to fill St. CeCe's space". Detroit Free Press. Retrieved August 28, 2019.
  8. ^ "Lady of the House Detroit". Lady of the House Detroit. Retrieved August 28, 2019.
  9. ^ a b c Gordinier, Jeff (November 28, 2018). "Esquire's Best New Restaurants in America, 2018". Esquire. Retrieved August 28, 2019.
  10. ^ a b c d e f g Gunst, Kathy. "When 'Eat Local' Goes Viral: A Detroit Restaurant's Success Saga". WSJ. Retrieved August 28, 2019.
  11. ^ Kurlyandchik, Mark (August 27, 2019). "Lauded chef Kate Williams to debut vintage-style diner Karl's in Detroit this week". Detroit Free Press. Retrieved August 28, 2019.
  12. ^ "The 2018 James Beard Award Semifinalists | James Beard Foundation". www.jamesbeard.org. Retrieved August 28, 2019.
  13. ^ "The 2019 James Beard Award Semifinalists | James Beard Foundation". www.jamesbeard.org. Retrieved 2019-08-28.
  14. ^ Silver, Kate (October 17, 2018). "Exploring food, music and more in the Motor City — without a motor". chicagotribune.com. Retrieved August 28, 2019.
  15. ^ Marx, Rebecca Flint (January 20, 2018). "A Detroit Restaurant With Deep Local Roots". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved August 28, 2019.

External links[]

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