#17 Chef Katie Button

Chef Katie Button was born in the South, raised in the North, and
educated in Europe. Now, she has returned to her roots as chef
and owner of two unique restaurant concepts in Asheville, North
Carolina: Cúrate Tapas Bar and Nightbell.


Chef Button pursued science degrees in college and earned her
master’s in biomedical engineering in Paris, France. She then
changed course and devoted her pursuits to the culinary field,
working for José Andrés at his restaurants in the United States
and then for Ferran Adrià at the world-renowned elBulli in Spain.


After meeting her husband Félix Meana, Chef Button moved to
Asheville and created Heirloom Hospitality Group with Meana and
her parents in 2011. Together, they opened Cúrate in 2011. The
Spanish tapas restaurant received instant attention and
accolades, from mentions in The Wall Street Journal and the New
York Times to local awards and press.


Nightbell, the second venue for Button and Heirloom Hospitality
Group, opened in 2014. Nightbell is a contemporary American small
plate restaurant with a craft cocktail bar and lounge. Button’s
menu is a blend of comfort food and innovative twists on the
classics, and her serious commitment to local farmers and
sustainable products is evident.


Chef Button was a semi-finalist for the James Beard Rising Star
Chef award from 2012-2014 and was a finalist in 2014, and also
received a nomination for Best Chef Southeast in 2015. Chef
Button was one of Food & Wine magazine’s Best New Chefs of
2015 and hosted an international television series, The Best
Chefs in the World.


The young chef also won the Robb Report Culinary Master
Competition over Eric Ripert, Masa Takayama, Charlie Palmer, and
Michael Mina, and in January 2013 she earned a StarChefs.com
Rising Stars Award and the Golden Whisk from Women Chefs and
Restaurateurs.


Button remains dedicated to causes beyond solely culinary
pursuits. Her dedication to an eco-friendly approach to
restaurant ownership was recently lauded by Grist.org, and both
her restaurants, Cúrate and Nightbell, are living wage certified
and work with local companies and organizations to recycle,
compost, and reduce food waste and environmental impact. Chef
Button cooked at this year’s Human Rights Campaign fundraiser in
Washington, D.C., a Chef Action Network summit in Asheville, and
works locally with Chefs at Welcome Table and Green
Opportunities’ Kitchen Ready Program. She has also attended the
James Beard Foundation Boot Camp for Policy and Change, an
educational program with Chefs Action Network for select chefs
from across the country.


Chef Button published her first cookbook in October 2016. The
book, Cúrate: Authentic Spanish Food from an American Kitchen,
celebrates the broad appeal of Spanish cooking and shows readers
how to recreate and adapt classic dishes in the home kitchen
using seasonal local ingredients.


Show notes at aoachef.com


HELP US PROMOTE YOU LOCAL CHEF!!


If you like the show please subscribe in iTunes and write us a
review! This is how we can attract your favorite chef and
introduce them to a new audience!


Review the show in iTunes We rely on it!!


Are you a chef or do you know a chef that would like to appear on
the show?


Drop me a line at aoachef@gmail.com


Have you thanked a chef today?


Click to view: show page on Awesound