Art Smith Speaker & Booking Information

Chef Art Smith loves the idea of bringing people together through food. It’s partly what made him the success he is today. He is the executive chef and co-owner of Blue Door Kitchen and Garden, Southern Art and Bourbon Bar, Homecomin': Florida Kitchen and Southern Shine at Disney Springs at Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando. Coming late this year will be his latest restaurant, Art Bird & Whiskey Bar at Grand Central Terminal in New York City. 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, dayto-day chef to Oprah Winfrey, a position that lasted ten years. Smith now coordinates and cooks for special events all around the world. Smith has made several television appearances including ABC’s Lady Gaga Thanksgiving Special, Top Chef, Top Chef Duels, and returned to Top Chef Masters (for the second time), where he quickly became an audience favorite. Smith was also featured in an episode of Extreme Makeover: Home Edition where he lent 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, Good Morning America, Nightline, Fox News, Extra, Entertainment Tonight, BBQ Pitmasters, The Talk, The Dr. Oz Show and The Oprah Winfrey Show. He has appeared on the cover of Parade magazine, and has been featured in Cooking Light magazine. He is a regular contributor to Standup magazine, whose proceeds benefit The Ben Cohen Standup Foundation, which raises awareness of the long-term, damaging effects of bullying. Smith is the author of four award-winning cookbooks: Back to the Table; Kitchen Life: Real Food for Real Families; Back to the Family; and Art Smith’s Healthy Comfort, with a focus on healthy cooking and healthy living, 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 March of 2016 his latest cookbook Smart Cooking was released in conjunction of his line of the Chef Art Smith Smartbowl Cooking System.

Smith is the founder of Common Threads, a non-profit organization teaching low-income children to cook wholesome and affordable meals since 2003. He believes that through hands-on cooking and introducing children to fresh foods we can help prevent childhood obesity, reverse the trend of poor eating habits, and learn about diversity and tolerance through the celebration of our cultural differences and our commonalities. In 2015 Smith launched a non-profit organization, Reunion, Florida Garden and Kitchen School, in Madison FL at the historic Wardlaw-Smith House near his childhood home in Jasper, FL. At Reunion students of all ages receive free classes on southern cooking traditions, horticulture, and weather forecasting via Weather Stem systems.

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. In 2008 Chef Art Smith received an Honorary MBA Degree, awarded by the Dedman School of Hospitality at Florida State University. Smith was inducted into the Chicago Culinary Museums Hall of Fame in 2010. September 30th 2010 was proclaimed by Richard M. Daley, Mayor of The City of Chicago as Chef Art Smith Day in Chicago. May 19, 2012 Chef Art Smith received an Honorary Doctorate of Culinary Arts from Johnson and Wales University, North Miami Campus. Smith lives in Chicago and Florida with his husband Jesus Salgueiro, their four children Zumy, Zuky, Brando and Angel, and of course three dogs, seven cats, 15 fish and a couple of turtles.

Upcoming Exciting Projects for Chef Art Smith: Florida State University As a an six generation Floridian and alumni of FSU as well as a receiving an honorary MBA from FSU, Chef Art will bring comfort to folks world-wide with his first venture at a University Campus. Together with Sodexo they will bring delicious and healthful offerings to the FSU Dining Hall and Student Center. Fresh From Florida Chef Art has partnered with Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam to focus on "Fresh From Florida", to create over 50 percent locally sourced foods from Florida to be used in restaurants all around the state. They have instituted this same model at his new restaurant Homecoming at Disney Springs, Walt Disney World , where well over 50% of the menu is locally sourced. Together they feel these restaurants can be catalyst to help bring awareness to Florida’s tremendous agriculture industry. Conversations From Reunion 501 C3 Chef Art’s first program at Reunion is "Conversations From Reunion", with Ed Mansouri President of WeatherStem. They will teach the importance of weather and its effect on daily living.

FSU already has a weather station at Doak Campbell Stadium. These programs will be virtually broadcast to the school and his restaurants will help educate students, employees on where their food comes from. Farm to table education is the on the pulse of education in America and with the help of The Annenberg Foundation, United Airlines, Sodexo, Cisco Systems and the State of Florida, he hopes to bring it to other challenged area's like his own local town. These Conversations will take place all across America and will be virtually available to schools, universities, homes and kitchens throughout the world.