Kate Williams
Born1984 or 1985 (age 38–39)
Detroit, Michigan, US
Education
Culinary career
Previous restaurant(s)
    • Lady of the House
    • Republic Tavern
    • Parks & Rec Diner
    • Rodin

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 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 Restaurant Relæ 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]

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.[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]

The restaurant closed in 2021 during the COVID-19 pandemic.[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 Foundation Award for best new restaurant in the country.[12]

In 2019 she was a semifinalist for a James Beard Foundation 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] 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.[16]

References

  1. 1 2 Kurlyandchik, Mark (2018-05-21). "Chef Kate Williams and her Lady of the House restaurant garner national press". Detroit Free Press. Retrieved August 28, 2019.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Rothman, Jordana (May 21, 2018). "Food & Wine Best New Chefs 2018". Food & Wine. Retrieved August 28, 2019.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Fitzpatrick, Tara (March 7, 2018). "On the Rise: Kate Williams". Restaurant Hospitality. Retrieved August 28, 2019.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 "Kate Williams". FOOD & WINE Classic in Aspen. Retrieved August 28, 2019.
  5. 1 2 3 4 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. 1 2 Canavan, Hillary Dixler (September 13, 2017). "Detroit Chef Kate Williams Knows Exactly Why She Cooks". Eater. Retrieved August 28, 2019.
  7. 1 2 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. 1 2 3 Gordinier, Jeff (November 28, 2018). "Esquire's Best New Restaurants in America, 2018". Esquire. Retrieved August 28, 2019.
  10. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Gunst, Kathy (22 March 2019). "When 'Eat Local' Goes Viral: A Detroit Restaurant's Success Saga". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved August 28, 2019.
  11. ↑ McKibben, Beth (2021-02-26). "Corktown Restaurant Lady of the House Is Permanently Closed". Eater Detroit. Retrieved 2023-06-27.
  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.
  16. ↑ 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.
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