Meet Chef Holly Smith of Cafe Juanita By LM Archer
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ward-winning Chef Holly Smith opened Cafe Juanita in Kirkland, Washington, in 2 0 0 0. A Ja m e s B e a r d B e s t C h e f Northwest 2008 winner, the Maryland native attended Baltimore International Culinar y College before moving to Seattle in 1993 to work for Tom Douglas at the Dahlia Lounge. Founding Cafe Juanita provided Holly the freedom to combine her love of Northern Italian food with her commitment to local, organic, and sustainable Pacific Northwest products. Chef Smith recently spoke to me for Food, Wine, Travel readers. What was the impetus for starting your own restaurant back in 2000? I wanted to create a restaurant I wanted to go to something personal. I wanted the chance to create and have creative control over the whole experience. Why the focus on Northern Italian cuisine? I wanted to focus on a cuisine, and had always felt an affinity and respect for Northern Italy. I began researching when I first started a business plan about two years before Cafe Juanita opened, and that research got me hooked.
How do you go about choosing your food and b e v e r a g e purveyors? Which comes first, the products, or the menu? My gut is to say that the ingredient comes first always. Usually, I am dreaming about an ingredient I expect to see in the next month or so, and then it goes from there. We are fortunate to be in an area where we have so many farmers, and great native products. I also think everything from our eggs, great pastured lamb, and organic wheat for our bread - all make the Pacific Northwest a stellar place in which to cook, and to eat. We try to work with people with the same motivation, to find and share the best products possible, and support artisans. I am always interested in getting as close to the source as possible, and we buy many things directly from the producers whenever we can— making for a fresher product straight to our door, versus stopping at a broker in between. How did winning the James Beard ‘Best Chef Northwest’ award in 2008 impact your culinary career? I have been very lucky. Since that win, I’ve been fortunate to cook with the Beard Foundation at charity events around the country, as well as the Fortune Most Powerful Women Summit, and other events. So, exposure is one benefit.
Photos: Cafe Juanita © Lara Swimmer; Chef Holly ©Robin Marie
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We have since been nominated many times for ‘Outstanding Restaurant in the US,’ ’Outstanding Service in the US,’ and ‘Outstanding Chef US.’
