Famous Chef Smith plans P.E.I. treat in Windsor
It’s not just a meal, it’s an event. That’s how chef Michael Smith sees his travelling dinner extravaganza.
The Food Network host, Chopped: Canada judge and cookbook author will serve up food and fun at Mezzo Ristorante and Lounge on Erie Street for two nights, April 12 and 13. “We’re bringing the Prince Edward Island road show to Windsor,” the affable Smith said by phone from the Inn at Bay Fortune, the five-star, 16-room country inn he and his wife Chastity own on the eastern end of P.E.I. “We’re going to fly in a whole bunch of our favourite local oysters, some of the first ones of the year, and we’ll set up an awesome P.E.I. oyster bar. And when all those oysters are slurped, and not a moment before, we’ll get on to dinner.” An Evening with Chef Michael Smith in Small Town Canada starts off with the oyster/cocktail party. “I’m part of the fun, I’m part of the crowd,” said Smith, who will be hard to miss at six-foot-seven. “We do an oyster bar because it’s a great way to be front and centre immediately when the guests arrive. “I’m coming down there to meet folks and take pictures and sign books.”
When it comes to food — unlike what you might expect from a chef who has worked in Manhattan, London, South America and the Caribbean — the 51-year-old foodie likes the basics, with local ingredients. “Keep it simple,” is the advice Smith gives young chefs. “Don’t strive for perfection. “It’s more about who’s at the table than what’s on the table. I really strongly believe that.” Smith believes families should sit down to eat together regularly. He cooks for his family, including three children. He often grills on an open fire, too, something guests experience at The Inn at Bay Fortune. Born in New York City, Smith graduated from the Culinary Institute of America before working in fine-dining establishments around the world. But when he travelled to P.E.I., he realized he was home. In 1992, he started working as a chef at the Inn at Bay Fortune.
Six years later, his show The Inn Chef debuted, and a second life began: TV personality. Smith went on to host a number of cooking shows over the years, including Chef at Home, and penned a shelf-full of cookbooks.
He and his wife eventually bought the acclaimed Inn at Bay Fortune, where they formed their nightly five-hour food experience, FireWorks — where guests tour Smith’s organic farm and fire pits and most everything is local and cooked on an open flame without knobs or technical wizardry. The food experience is the basis of his Windsor appearance, a four-course meal with oysters and smoked salmon he’ll fly in. His chef Chris Gibb and event producer Leah Deveau will come as well to work with Mezzo chef Pat Lizzi. “We just wanted to do something different for Windsor, to spice it up a bit,” said Filip Rocca, who owns Mezzo with Darcy King. “We both enjoy Michael Smith’s cooking on TV so we did a little legwork and managed to snag him.”