Art Smith is a critically acclaimed celebrity chef and co-owner of the highly successful restaurants Art and Soul in Washington D.C., and Southern Art and Bourbon Bar in Atlanta. He is known for his expertise in Southern cooking and is a natural manning the pits at Chicago q.

Smith, who was named Humanitarian of the Year in 2007 by the James Beard Foundation, has received the culinary profession’s highest awards and has cooked for some of the world’s most famous celebrities and most powerful dignitaries including governors Bob Graham and George Bush. In 1997, Smith became the personal, day-to-day chef to Oprah Winfrey, a position that lasted more than a decade. Since then, he has authored three award-winning cookbooks: Back to the Table, Kitchen Life: Real Food for Real Families and Back to Family.