Someone’s in the Kitchen…

By Leonard Shapiro

There wasn’t much doubt about Lindell Smith’s future occupation, not with a father who once served as executive chef at the posh UN Plaza Hotel in Manhattan, owned and operated five restaurants in Puerto Rico and opened a bed and breakfast in Rappahanock seven years ago.

Chicken Caesar salad to go.

Photos by © Vicky Moon

It’s always been about the kitchen for his son, Lindell, the new chef at the Middleburg Tennis Club (MTC) who comes to the facility with an impeccable reputation. It includes a degree from the iconic Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, N.Y., a year working in a D.C. restaurant owned by feed-theneedy celebrity chef Jose Andres and, most recently, working as executive chef at STK, a fine San Juan steakhouse.

When STK closed last year because of the pandemic, Brooklyn-born Lindell came to Virginia to help out at his dad’s B&B. A tennis club member, Stuart Weinstein-Bacal, had been the family’s lawyer in Puerto Rico and told Lindell about the MTC opening. His hiring was a no-brainer.

“I just grew up in the industry,” he said. “I’ve always been in the kitchen. Right now, I’m really enjoying this community. There’s a little less pressure than you have at a typical big restaurant. At STK, we were doing 400-500 meals a day with a crew of 20. Here, it’s a lot more hands on for me, and that’s good.”

Even better is the club’s revised menu and the culinary touches Lindell also provides. Just listen to one satisfied member’s rave review just after finishing a recent lunch.

“That was the best club sandwich I ever had,” he said. “Everything was made just the way it’s supposed to be made. Perfect.”

Chef Smith’s scrumptious salmon.