Kate Williams (chef) explained

Birth Place:Detroit, Michigan, US

Kate Williams is a chef and restaurateur in Detroit, Michigan, US. She was chef and restaurateur for 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. Lady of the House closed in 2021 during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Early life

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

Career

Williams served as sous chef for Wolfgang Puck in Chicago and worked in restaurants in New York and at in Copenhagen.[3] 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". 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.

Lady of the House

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.[4] It is open Tuesday through Sunday for dinner and, since February 2018, on Saturday and Sunday for brunch.[5] Some of the dinnerware had belonged to Williams' grandmother. Childhood photos of restaurant employees hang in a hallway.[6]

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

Diners are sometimes disappointed when a dish they've read about is unavailable due to the seasonal nature of Williams' menu. 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. It requires large carrots, so is available only at times of year when local farmers are producing them.

Williams' initial vision was to build a neighborhood restaurant "that feels like it's been there forever".[7] She wanted a restaurant "small enough that I am cooking every day and not just doing paperwork".[8]

The restaurant closed in 2021 during the COVID-19 pandemic.[9]

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. The same year, GQ and Esquire named the restaurant to their lists of the year's best new restaurants. The restaurant was a semifinalist for the James Beard Foundation Award for best new restaurant in the country.[10]

In 2019 she was a semifinalist for a James Beard Foundation Award for best chef in the Great Lakes.[11]

Industry journal Restaurant Hospitality called her "the poster child for Detroit's rising food scene".[12] The Chicago Tribune said her food showed "pure mastery".[13] The New York Times called it "seasonal-voluptuous".[14]

Philanthropy

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

Personal life

Williams has lived in Corktown since 2014.[15] She has family connections to Corktown and Detroit. Her paternal grandfather once lived a few blocks from the restaurant's location. Her maternal grandparents met at the Gaelic League, located around the corner. A great-great-grandfather ran a bakery in Detroit's West Village neighborhood.[16]

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Kurlyandchik . Mark . 2018-05-21 . Chef Kate Williams and her Lady of the House restaurant garner national press . August 28, 2019 . Detroit Free Press . en.
  2. Web site: Kate Williams. FOOD & WINE Classic in Aspen. en-US. August 28, 2019.
  3. News: Farm-to-Table in the Shadow of Downtown Detroit. Wells. Pete. May 28, 2018. The New York Times. August 28, 2019. en-US. 0362-4331.
  4. Web site: Food & Wine Best New Chefs 2018. Rothman. Jordana. May 21, 2018. Food & Wine. en. August 28, 2019.
  5. Web site: Lady of the House Detroit. Lady of the House Detroit. en-US. August 28, 2019.
  6. Web site: Esquire's Best New Restaurants in America, 2018. Gordinier. Jeff. November 28, 2018. Esquire. en-US. August 28, 2019.
  7. News: When 'Eat Local' Goes Viral: A Detroit Restaurant's Success Saga. Gunst. Kathy. 22 March 2019. Wall Street Journal. en-US. August 28, 2019.
  8. Web site: Detroit Chef Kate Williams Knows Exactly Why She Cooks. Canavan. Hillary Dixler. September 13, 2017. Eater. August 28, 2019.
  9. Web site: McKibben . Beth . 2021-02-26 . Corktown Restaurant Lady of the House Is Permanently Closed . 2023-06-27 . Eater Detroit . en.
  10. Web site: The 2018 James Beard Award Semifinalists James Beard Foundation. www.jamesbeard.org. en. August 28, 2019.
  11. Web site: The 2019 James Beard Award Semifinalists James Beard Foundation. www.jamesbeard.org. en. 2019-08-28.
  12. Web site: On the Rise: Kate Williams. Fitzpatrick. Tara. March 7, 2018. Restaurant Hospitality. en. August 28, 2019.
  13. Web site: Exploring food, music and more in the Motor City — without a motor. Silver. Kate. October 17, 2018. chicagotribune.com. August 28, 2019.
  14. News: A Detroit Restaurant With Deep Local Roots. Marx. Rebecca Flint. January 20, 2018. The New York Times. August 28, 2019. en-US. 0362-4331.
  15. Web site: Lady of the House to fill St. CeCe's space. Kurlyandchik. Mark. December 18, 2016. Detroit Free Press. en. August 28, 2019.
  16. Web site: Kurlyandchik . Mark . August 27, 2019 . Lauded chef Kate Williams to debut vintage-style diner Karl's in Detroit this week . August 28, 2019 . Detroit Free Press . en.